


Safety Measures

by deceptive_serenade



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adults, Coming of Age, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Romance, Slow Burn, Summer, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:07:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 138,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24100087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deceptive_serenade/pseuds/deceptive_serenade
Summary: Rose Weasley is ready to reinvent herself. She’s got her own place now, proudly single and fully prepared to enjoy her summer. That is, until she loses her job, gets wrapped up in her cousin’s wedding plans and ends up being friends with benefits with her new neighbour, Scorpius Malfoy. How did this happen?Rose/Scorpius. Rated M for mature themes.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy & Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley
Comments: 342
Kudos: 359





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Rose Weasley had everything under control.

Okay, so her cousin Albus dented the doorframe of her new flat with her dresser. Her brother Hugo lost one of her boxes Apparating – how does one even do that? The Ministry guy who was supposed to set up her Floo Network showed up two hours late and then somehow messed it up. He was currently in her living room, swearing under his breath, covered in soot, trying to fix it.

Rose had everything under control, and she was not going to lose her shit. She promised herself.

But she was thankful that Albus and Hugo took a Wednesday morning off – why did move-in days have to be the first of the month? – to help her get everything in her new flat. She was already exhausted and it was only eleven in the morning.

"I think that was the last of the boxes," Albus said, plopping a large box down on the floor of her bedroom. Rose was now surrounded by various boxes, and the thought of going through all of them after packing made her feel even more tired. "Hugo was arguing with the Floo guy."

"What? Why?" she asked, running her wand along the top of the box to open it.

"You know. Hugo's got a temper. The guy was making a mess of it, anyway."

Rose groaned, wiping her sweaty forehead. _Note to self: never move in July._ "Did he drive him off?"

"Yeah, he said he'd come back next week."

She sat down on an unopened box and exhaled loudly. "Well, I suppose it's not the end of the world. I like walking to work, anyway."

"Yeah, the Ministry isn't too far from here." Albus sat down on a box across from her, running a hand through his unruly dark hair. They could hear Hugo in the kitchen, clanging pots and pans together as he unpacked. "Do you like the building?"

"I do," Rose said, looking around the bedroom again. It was a fairly simple flat – one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen – but she had never lived alone before, let alone in Muggle London.

"Plus, Diagon Alley is just down the road." Albus had a guilty look on his face. He had asked Rose to leave somewhat abruptly.

Apparently in the months leading up to his wedding, he had neglected to tell Rose that she needed to move out of their shared flat in Diagon Alley. She had figured she would move at some point, but she hadn't expected Albus to reluctantly sit her down, practically giving her a two-week notice.

Thankfully, he'd made it up to her, taking several days off at his job in the Auror department to help her find a new flat. They managed to find Rose's new place in a week, and even though it was slightly out of her budget, she would be living by herself. Alone _._

Which was _exactly_ what she needed.

"Stop apologizing, Albus," Rose said, seeing the look on his face. It was one she'd seen about six times a day for a fortnight. "It was time to move out, anyway. You're getting married in a month."

"A month and one day," he reminded her.

"The countdown begins."

"You have no idea," he said, looking weary. "Charlotte got in a spat with her mum last night about the bridesmaids dresses being too frilly. Her mum was the one who picked them."

"Sounds like a You problem," Rose replied, grinning at him. Until she moved out, she'd been dealing with his fiancée's wedding issues as equally as Albus, but now that she was out, she was glad to have put some distance in between herself and all the wedding drama.

"Just wait until your wedding," he countered moodily.

"I'm probably never getting married," Rose said cheerily. She could sense the falseness in her voice, but Albus probably couldn't. He could be a bit thick. "I'm telling you. I'm turning over a new leaf with all of this."

He snorted. "I've heard enough about your newfound independence."

"It's true!"

"You're twenty-four, not eighteen."

"Whatever," she said, ignoring the sting. "I'm done dating these idiots. I'm going to reinvent myself. I'm going to be a career woman."

Albus looked around her bedroom pointedly. "Well, you're certainly not a minimalist."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

He didn't see her expression, eyes dipping to his wristwatch. "I'm going to grab some lunch before work. Want to come?"

"Yeah, I'll just change."

"I'll ask your brother if he wants to come."

As Albus went to the kitchen to talk to Hugo, closing the door behind him, Rose heaved one of her bigger suitcases to the floor, dropping to her knees to open it. She grabbed a neatly folded blue dress, her favourite one, and quickly changed out of her sweaty clothes.

She hadn't worn anything other than dresses or skirts since Albus' brother James told her she was 'one of the boys' back when she was fourteen. Over the years, she found the dresses could actually get her out of a bad mood, just by the feel of confidence in them. They felt like her superpower.

Oh, and magic was great too.

"Hey, Rose?" Hugo said from the other side of the door, knocking on it. "I accidentally broke all your cups. Are you good at _Reparo_?"

She rolled her eyes, darting around the boxes to open the door. Her brother, at least half a foot taller than her with freckles and bright red mop, looked sheepishly down at her. "It wasn't my fault."

"Hugo, did you even try?" she asked, trying not to laugh.

"I did enough damage," he advised.

"It's a first-year spell."

"I never claimed to be good at Charms."

"I swear to Merlin," she muttered, pushing past him to inspect her new kitchen. She was confronted with chips of her favourite teacups all over the floor, as well as a lot of glass. Albus was muttering under his breath as her good wine glasses repaired themselves, but they had lost their original shine.

"So, lunch?" Hugo suggested, sounding unconcerned.

Rose conceded, resolving to fix up her own flat afterwards. "It's a good thing you're good at Quidditch, Hugo."

"I resent that!" he called, halfway out the front door. She exchanged looks with Albus, who only shrugged before following him.

At least they tried.

* * *

It was the First Day of the Rest of her Life, and Rose was beginning to admit that she was fully fed up with it.

She managed to set up her flat after lunch. It had required a fair bit of power, but magic was definitely the way to go. She cleaned up the soot from the Floo guy, fixed up the kitchen that Hugo had made a mess of, unpacked all her boxes and gotten her clothes hung up in her closet. The only thing left was putting up her bedsheets and making her bed, which she wanted to do the Muggle way. She was just sentimental like that.

Rose barely got any time to have her third coffee of the day before she Apparating to Diagon Alley. She got to Madame Malkin's just in time to see Roxanne, her cousin and closest friend, enter the shop. Rose took a moment before going in, fingering the pockets of her dress and taking a deep breath.

She could be honest with herself. She was jealous.

Although Rose hadn't had a proper relationship – ever, really – she could admit that she had been a closet romantic for most of her life. Sure, she loved Quidditch and roughhousing with her cousins and brother, but she always thought she would find a relationship that would tie her stomach in knots. She thought she would be married by then.

But for some reason or another, it hadn't happened for her. She knew she had loads of time, but it didn't always feel like it; Albus was, of course, marrying Charlotte Jones, Roxanne was in a long-term relationship for the last two years and her other friends – Ella Longbottom and Skye Thomas – were seeing people.

So why not her?

 _You're not any lesser for not being in a relationship_ , Rose reminded herself, squaring her shoulders. Besides, it wasn't as though her past relationships were anything special. She'd been at the same reception job since Hogwarts – it was time to focus on herself.

She practically marched into the shop, making her way to the back where Madame Malkin kept the wedding dress robes. Everyone else besides Charlotte was already there, sitting in the middle of the room on a large purple ottoman and sipping champagne like it was a scene out of some goddamn wedding film.

"Rose!" Roxanne lit up at the sight of her, which instantly made her feel considerably better. As she sat beside her at the end of the couch, Roxanne passed her a glass of golden champagne from a tray floating nearby. "You're just in time. Charlotte is trying on her wedding dress."

"Ooh," Rose said, taking a sip of champagne and genuinely perking up. Okay, so maybe she loved those goddamn wedding films. "It looked amazing all those months ago."

"Then we get to try _our_ dresses," Ella said from beside Roxanne. There was a very wide, sarcastic smile on her round face, framed by her waist-long blonde hair. "Last night –"

"Yeah, I heard there was some drama with her mum," I said, grimacing.

"You don't know the half of it," Skye called over from the other side of the sofa. She wiggled her empty glass and the champagne bottle magically floated over to her and poured, refilling her glass. "I was up half the night talking to Charlotte. I think the stress is getting to her."

Rose kept quiet, sipping her drink slowly. She hadn't seen what happened, but she knew Albus and Charlotte had been arguing with her mother for a while before coming back to the flat. Rose had been packing and chosen not to interrupt them.

It was a good couple of hours that he was consoling Charlotte – her mother could get quite nasty, by the sound of it – before she dried her eyes, ate some of the dinner he'd cooked her and decided to talk to Skye about it all. After she left, she found Albus asleep on the couch from exhaustion, leaving Rose to pack by herself.

 _Men_.

But to be fair, Charlotte was a bit of a crier.

"Charlotte's mum has been a little difficult over the whole thing," Ella put in kindly.

Roxanne snorted loudly. "That is literally the biggest understatement of the year. She's been a nightmare. Why does every little thing about the wedding have to be perfect?"

"Everyone's got their input," Skye said, her voice flat.

"Albus has become pretty drained over everything," Rose said in a hushed voice so Charlotte wouldn't hear from the dressing room. "He told me a couple of nights ago that if he hadn't put down all those deposits, he'd be dragging her to the courtroom."

"That's what the deposits are for," Ella said, and they all laughed.

"What are we laughing at?"

All of them couldn't help but go quiet as they saw Charlotte come out from behind the curtain. They'd all seen it months ago, when she picked the dress, but now it really did fit perfectly. It was sleek and form fitting at the top, lacy with a delicate floral pattern, then flaring out below the waist. The floral pattern continued down her dress, sheer at the trail.

It was so artistic, imaginative… so _Charlotte._

"Amazing," Ella said admiringly, speaking first.

"Is that the same dress?" Skye asked, grinning at Charlotte. "Looks even better than before."

"Incredible," Roxanne put in, shaking her head. "I said it before and I'll say it again – I approve."

They all looked to Rose.

She tried not to smile too widely at the thought, but failed. "Al is going to lose his shit."

They laughed, but knew it was true. Albus had pined over Charlotte for a good year before he asked her out at Graduation. And by asking out, that meant that he found her after the ceremony and snogged the living daylights out of her.

Charlotte and Ella were in Hufflepuff while the rest of them were in Gryffindor. She'd known them a little bit from class, but got to know them better over the years that she and Albus dated. She and Ella, already friends in Hogwarts, fit in surprisingly well with their little friend group. Which was good, since Charlotte was _constantly_ at Rose and Albus' flat over the years.

Thank Merlin they were good with Silencing charms.

Madame Malkin was observing Charlotte carefully as she stepped on a cushion in front of the mirror, allowing her to see the dress fall properly. A measuring tape was wrapping around her of its own accord, rapidly wrapping around her arms, around her waist and peeking through her curly hair down to the small of her back.

"Nearly there," she determined, mumbling various numbers to herself.

"Will you put your hair up?" Ella asked, getting up to see Charlotte in the mirror. "It might show off the back more."

"That's true," she said, turning to look at the jewelled plunging back of the dress. "Should I add sleeves?"

"Nah, it will be hot in August," Rose said, regretfully remembering her very sweaty moving process that morning.

"It's honestly perfect," Roxanne said confidently, raising her glass. "I can't wait for your wedding."

Charlotte blushed as they toasted her.

A few minutes later, they were all changing into the pink bridesmaid dresses, the measurement tape working on them as they pinched and pulled, trying to get comfortable. The dresses _were_ rather frilly, with this strange bunching around the thighs that made Rose's already too-thick thighs look even thicker.

But the worst part was that this particular shade of pink did not seem to agree with her dark red hair. She hadn't been there when they picked the bridesmaid dress robes – she'd had to work late – and clearly Charlotte's mother had never seen Rose's hair when she picked the dresses. Of course, with Charlotte, Roxanne and Skye's various shades of brown hair and Ella's blonde, it never seemed to come up.

The others gathered around Rose. Roxanne gently adjusted Rose's hair, smoothing out the frizzy ends against the pink fabric. There was no way around it – it clashed horribly.

"Hmm…" Roxanne hummed, biting her lip before looking to Charlotte.

"Madame?" she asked, calling her over. "Would it be possible to dye the dresses at this point?"

Rose swore that Madame Malkin's eyes widened in disbelief before settling back to their usual, indifferent expression. "I suppose a paler pink would be more suitable?"

"Yes," Charlotte said, shoulders sagging. "My mum's going to kill me, but yes."

As the other girls and Madame Malkin discussed the logistics, Rose felt Roxanne reach around her shoulders and give her a squeeze. "Come on, Rose. It's not so bad."

"Maybe I should dye my hair," she said, only half-joking.

"It looks great on you otherwise," Roxanne began, but Rose shook her head, working her way back to the dressing room, trying not to trip.

She'd always been a little self-conscious of her body, especially with so many male cousins always openly speaking about female bodies. In school, with all the Quidditch training she'd had to do, she'd been thin and fast. Without the exercise post-graduation, she'd filled out a little more, but not in the way that she would have liked. She found herself sucking in her belly as she looked at the mirror in the dressing room before giving up and changing back into her normal clothes.

As the rest of the girls changed out of their dresses, Rose berated herself. She wasn't that bad. She liked that her breasts were bigger than they'd been at fourteen. Bigger thighs and butts were sort of fashionable, right? Her skin was clear, she didn't mind the freckles and she liked her hair, despite it all.

It had just been a long day.

* * *

It was half past nine before Rose reached her apartment. After the fitting, she and her friends had spent the evening at the Leaky Cauldron, sharing stories over dinner. One great thing about the wedding was that it brought all her friends together more than they would normally see each other.

She'd stayed far too long, feeling happy and sleepy until she realized she needed to walk home. Her Floo wasn't working and they'd put a Silencing charm that morning to Apparate in and out for moving, but she was sure that charm had worn off. The loud crack from the Apparating was sure to shock her Muggle neighbours.

For the first time, she cursed herself for living in a Muggle building.

Rose made her way up the stairs to the third floor, feeling dead on her feet. She found herself repeating the number in her head – _number thirty-five_ – until she reached her floor and made her way down the hallway until she saw the golden '35' nailed on the mahogany door. She'd put her key in the lock and was twisting when she heard a voice behind her.

"Weasley?"

She turned around at the unfamiliar voice, but as she discovered, not an unfamiliar face. Standing there, bag slung around his shoulder, dressed in a pristine white lab coat and keys in hand, was Scorpius Malfoy.

"Malfoy," she said in astonishment. Malfoy lived in a _Muggle_ building?

"You live here?" he asked, gesturing to her key.

"I just moved in today."

"Oh." He jerked his head towards the door with '31' in the same large, golden plating.

The first thing Rose noticed that his hair had faded from the striking blonde hair, almost white during school, to a somewhat sandy blonde. Secondly, he had somewhat dorky-looking spectacles at Hogwarts that he switched out for black, thick-rimmed glasses. Still nerdy, but in an attractive way.

She didn't really know him personally, besides from class. Her father warned against getting close to Malfoy in her first year, but she barely interacted with him. He'd always been quiet in classes, always around the same few people in Slytherin.

"You look great," he said, surprising her again. She felt her cheeks redden.

"Same to you," she replied, flustered. "Have you lived here long?"

"Yeah, about three years."

"How do you like it?"

"It's all right…" He shifted from one foot to another. "I've actually just come from work and haven't had supper yet…"

"Oh! I'm sorry," she said hurriedly, turning away. "Don't let me keep you."

"See you around," he said kindly. She offered a smile and wave before letting herself into her flat and shutting the door behind her.

 _Wild_ , she thought, throwing her keys back in her purse. Malfoy lived in her Muggle building – a family with a reputation for hating Muggles. Who would've thought?

As she changed, brushed her teeth in an unfamiliar bathroom and collapsed on her still-unmade mattress, she felt the weight of the day sinking in. She'd always lived with her family, then her Hogwarts dorm mates, then Albus – she'd never been alone. She thought she'd be married by now, but she couldn't even talk to Scorpius Malfoy without tripping on her words. Perhaps it was just the tiredness talking, but she'd never felt so alone in her life.

Maybe she didn't have everything under control.

Sighing, Rose heaved herself up and picked up her bedsheets, duvet and pillow to make her bed. She told herself that this was just the transition phase. She was going to make her bed with her bare hands, go to work the next day and her new place would feel home in no time.

Rose faced the First Day of the Rest of her Life. She wanted to embrace the new independence. She wanted to be a better Rose, and this is what she needed. It was okay if it was a little lonely.

At least, that's what she was hoping.

* * *

A/N: Hey there, hope you like the first chapter of this new story. It's a little different than the last one, but I promise you it mainly stays lighthearted. Also, this is my first story with more mature themes, so please keep that in mind!

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think so far! :)


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Normally, Rose's first priority was coffee.

But since she was trying to reinvent herself, the priority was waking up early, which she hated, and going for a run, which she liked considerably more but not in the middle of the busy streets of London.

Nevertheless, she woke up early, hating herself in every moment, pulled on her old trainers and went for a run. She used to love running around the Quidditch pitch, and it kept her fit for all those long Quidditch practices over the years. However, it had been a good six years since she'd done any sort of physical exertion, and she had basically given up after fifteen minutes.

It was a start?

But she resolved to keep doing it anyway.

After a hot shower, her priorities shifted back to coffee. This neighbourhood was a little unfamiliar to her, and even though it was strange to a few of her co-workers, the coffee at the office actually made her die a little inside. She needed to find a new coffeeshop near her flat.

Heading towards the Ministry, the first shop she found that wasn't a Starbucks was called Morning Owl, and the wooden sign was complete with a sketch of a smiling, sleepy owl. She entertained the coffeeshop, and although a little small and quaint, it had a lineup that went nearly out the door.

And to her surprise, at the end of the line was Scorpius Malfoy.

"Morning," she greeted as she joined the line behind him. He turned around, raising his eyebrows, but he didn't seem as shocked as the night before.

"Morning," he replied, keeping his body half turned as he looked back to the menu.

"How's the coffee here?"

"It's good," he said. She noticed he was wearing a lab coat again.

"Off to work?"

"Yeah."

"Where to? St. Mungo's?"

"No." He lowered his voice considerably, making Rose lean in to hear him. "I work at the Apothecary in Diagon Alley."

"Oh." She rocked back, remembering reading about the Apothecary in the _Daily Prophet_ many years ago. The Malfoys, mostly staying out of the spotlight staying out of the war, decided to buy out the Apothecary from the retiring previous owner. It was no secret that the Malfoys were quite rich, but the interesting fact was that Draco Malfoy ran the shop himself. No one had quite expected that.

So Scorpius Malfoy worked with his father, Rose mused.

The line moved forward before he glanced back at her again, eyes moving down her body. "What about you? Anywhere special today?"

Her arms crossed in front of her. It wasn't the first time men had assumed that because she was wearing a dress, she was dressing up. "No, just work. I'm at the Ministry, in the transport office."

"Ah."

"The coffee there tastes like Goblin piss."

His lips twitched before he looked around quickly to see if anyone had heard. "I recommend the medium roast."

"Oh, thanks."

Their conversation came to an awkward lull as the line moved along. Rose checked her watch; thanks to her morning run, she wasn't late to work, which was a first. Perhaps this whole reinventing herself was working? She was hopeful.

After ordering, she joined him at the end of the counter, where he was pouring milk into his coffee. She grabbed the cream for hers.

"I should warn you, by the way," he said, putting down the milk and taking a wooden stir stick. "Number thirty-three."

She looked up at him questioningly.

"Our neighbour," he clarified, dumping the stick and taking a lid. "He's a bit of a character."

She finished pouring and put the cream down, heart sinking. "In what way?"

"He loves music," he said, passing her a lid for her cup. "Especially the loud variety at five-thirty in the morning. Plus, he's always shouting at his cat. It runs away quite often and then he has a fit every time."

"I'm guessing our walls are quite thin," she said.

"Not really," he said, leading the way out the door, "but he makes it seem like it."

"So, nothing a Silencing charm won't fix?" she said quietly so no passing Muggles would hear.

"Usually, but they wear off too soon." He paused to take a sip of his coffee. "He also fries fish."

" _Fish_?"

"It stinks up the hall a lot."

"I didn't smell anything last night…"

"It's usually earlier, around suppertime."

She thought for a moment, tasting her drink as they walked down the road. It was actually quite good. "I think I found my new morning coffee shop."

"Which one was the previous one?" he asked.

"Rosa Lee Teabag in Diagon Alley. It was by my old flat."

"That's my afternoon fix," he said. The wind from the river was blowing, and even though it was still quite warm in the morning, the tops of his sharp cheekbones tinged pink. She couldn't help finding extremely appealing and had to look away – looking at him straight on was making her feel a tiny bit dazed.

Besides, a boyfriend was the last thing she wanted right then.

Her brain was starting to function just as they were reaching the familiar red telephone booth. "So, you don't Floo to work, or…?"

"I prefer to walk," he said, shrugging. "Apparating makes me dizzy and I hate soot."

"I prefer walking as well," she admitted as they approached the empty booth. "Besides, my Floo isn't working yet."

"Ah." He stopped and gestured forwards with his coffee cup, indicating towards the road. "Well, have a nice day, Weasley."

"Rose," she corrected, feeling herself flush. "Too many Weasleys."

"Rose," he repeated. He gave a very small smile before turning to leave. She had to look twice – she almost didn't see it.

* * *

Rose kept her robes on the back of her chair at her desk, so she was shivering at the normally chilly air of the Ministry of Magic building as she made her way to the Department of Magical Transportation. She'd worked at the office since she graduated, starting as a receptionist and assuming she would work her way up. As it happened, she took on various tasks, had the appropriate raises, but still assumed the role as a receptionist.

And as she was about to find out, that was a big mistake.

She'd just gotten her robe on and sat down at her desk when her boss, Susan Bones, came into the office. She smiled at Rose in greeting, as she always did, but instead of heading to her desk, she stopped at reception.

"Rose," she said, leaning on the desk and observing the open planners. "How was the move?"

"It went well, thank you," she replied, straightening a few papers on her desk.

"Can I see you in my office?"

Rose followed Susan past all the cubicles, where a few of her colleagues were setting up. She observed the man who'd failed to set up her Floo, writing diligently on a piece of parchment. Most of her coworkers had not made it into the office yet.

Susan let Rose through first before entering, shutting the door behind her. She strode behind her desk, plopping her bag down and sitting down before she sighed heavily. Rose was starting to feel a little nervous, still standing there.

"Everything all right?" Rose asked, voice hesitant.

"We received notice of some budget cuts yesterday," Susan said, flipping through a notebook sitting on the tabletop. She stopped a few pages over and stopped at a number that Rose couldn't read upside-down. "Routine, normally."

"Normally," she repeated, feeling a plummeting in her chest.

"Sit," her boss directed, so Rose dropped down onto the chair opposite her. "Tell me, Rose – do you have savings?"

She felt a lump in her throat. _This was not happening._ "Yes."

"The move didn't clean you out, did it?"

"No, ma'am."

"Do you have any other skills?" she asked, unscrewing an ink bottle and picking up her quill. "How are you with Apparating?"

Rose cleared her throat, choosing to answer truthfully. "Average. I avoid it when I can."

"Brooms?"

"I'm a good flier."

"How are you with the specs?" she asked, scratching something down. "Would you be able to inspect a broom, maybe test it?"

"I probably could…" She trailed off. "Honestly, I've mostly flown them."

"What about Transfiguration?" Susan asked, circling something on the page. "Would you be interested in Transfiguring Portkeys?"

"Yes," Rose replied, but she had a feeling her reluctance was written all over her face, because Susan crossed something out in that next moment. This was not good. The shock of it all was rendering her useless in this situation and the panic was rising in her chest.

Susan sighed. "Rose."

"Yes?" Her voice was meek.

"You're a diligent worker," she said gently. "You're helpful. You're very organized. You're mostly on time. You do a lot around the office. But you're so young and bright – why are you settling here?"

"I like it here," Rose replied, but it was a half-truth, and she knew it.

Susan smiled at her, but her words were not as kind. "We're going to have to let you go. We're combining our departments' separate receptions and only one of you can stay. You don't have a family, you're young… unfortunately, this is what we have to do right now."

Rose stared at Susan's eyebrows, willing herself not to cry. "Today?"

"No," she said, looking down at her notes. "I give my employees notice. You have two more weeks."

Rose let out a shaky breath. She would definitely have rent for the next month, without taking anything out from her savings. But nothing else. "Okay."

"You have my recommendation," she continued, taking a piece of parchment with her letterhead stamped onto it. In her neat handwriting, she'd written a letter commending Rose. "Let me know anytime if you need another."

Rose left her office with the letter and sat back at her desk, hating Susan for not picking her to stay. But she couldn't hate her, either – she was a good boss. This was probably the nicest thing she could've done for Rose, but she was still losing her job. Soon.

Two weeks. Two weeks to get her shit together.

* * *

It was the Second Day of the Rest of her Life, and Rose had gone and lost her job.

As she sat at a corner both in the Leaky Cauldron, waiting for Albus – she'd sent a quick note to him to meet her there – she wondered exactly how she put herself in a position to be so easily dispensable.

At Hogwarts, Rose had a reputation. She had high marks, she was Prefect and Head Girl. She'd been on the Quidditch team. She'd gotten nearly perfect N.E.W.T.S. But at the end of Hogwarts, after graduation she'd had an intense mental breakdown. She'd told her parents it was stressful finding a job, which was only half of it.

The truth was probably that she'd been under enormous pressure during school to live up to her family's legacy, and it fucked with her head in ways she hadn't realized. As a receptionist, it was nice to take a breather. Stay out of the limelight. But then one year turned into another, and any previous ambitions had faded quite a bit over the years.

Not that she was able to say any of that out loud.

Albus got there after Rose had finished her first pint. He slid down next to her, swinging his bag strap around his head and plopping it down on the floor, saying, "Sorry, I just got your note, I was helping Charlotte with…" He trailed off when he saw Rose's expression, as though he was seeing it properly for the first time. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, looking away to wave at the bartender for another pint. "I lost my job."

" _What_?"

"Layoffs," she said miserably, dropping her head into her hands. She wouldn't cry. She _wouldn't._ "Budget changed yesterday. I got laid off."

"Shit."

"I know."

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I bought a fucking couch," she mumbled into her fingers. "Just last week."

"It's a nice couch?" he offered cautiously.

"It was expensive. I should return it."

"Don't do that," he said sternly. "I know you have savings, and another job should be around the corner. You could even ask your parents to help."

"Don't even joke about that," Rose said, feeling a tiny flare in her belly. She hadn't asked her parents' help at seventeen, and she wasn't about to start now. "I don't even know what to apply for."

"Whatever you want," he said, shrugging. "You know I'm here if you need help with rent, right?"

She looked at him. "You're paying for a _wedding_ , Al."

"So is Charlotte," he pointed out. "Plus, my dad's helping some. As a gift."

Rose sighed as the bartender came over with two pints, full to the brim. She brought one towards her and practically started chugging it.

"I think this could be a good thing, Rose," Albus said, letting go of her and shifting one of the pints towards him. "I know you liked your job, and it's hard to move on, but you're too smart for a receptionist job. Wouldn't you like to try something else?"

"I didn't like it that much," she said before taking a drink, avoiding his question.

"That still proves my point."

"It does not."

Albus laughed, shaking his head as he reached for his bag. "Do you want to see something?"

Rose turned to see Albus pulling out a folded-up piece of parchment. He unfolded it until it was rather large, with various circles and names printed everywhere. There were so many names she couldn't find her own.

"Seating chart?" she asked, peering down at it.

"It's impossible," he told her, folding it back up and tucking it back into his bag. "That's why I was late. Our family is too damn big and they all have their issues with each other."

"Where am I sitting?"

"Probably with Roxanne and her boyfriend," Albus said, pointing to a far table on the right. She finally found her name in cramped writing next to Roxanne's name. "I don't know why we have to use pictures, but Charlotte says it helps her visualize it."

"Her and her visualizing," Rose said, taking another gulp of beer. Charlotte did paintings, including magical ones, and she was always going on about picturing this and that.

He laughed. "I think I should head back soon. She was making dinner tonight."

"Look at you, all domestic," she teased. Albus only grinned.

"Is Roxanne coming?" he asked.

"No," Rose replied, draining her glass. Roxanne was going to be a Professor at Hogwarts in September, taking over Professor Flitwick's Charms classes and Charms club. She was in training every weekday of that summer, and Rose didn't see the point in bothering Roxanne to come all the way back to London just to be her drinking buddy.

"I'll walk you home, then?" Albus asked. He knew her well enough to know that she was well on her way to being more than a little tipsy.

"One more," she insisted. Rose was not going back to her lonely little flat without relaxing a least a little bit. She'd lost her job, anyway – it wasn't as though they were going to sack her _again_ if she showed up hungover the next morning.

Albus pushed his mostly-full pint back to Rose.

"One more, then," he said, leaning back and crossing his arms firmly.

* * *

It smelled like fucking _fish_.

Rose was too tipsy to deal with her neighbour and his fish – seriously, was it _rotting_? It smelled awful. Unfortunately, as she made her way to her door, she couldn't think of a single spell that dissipated smells, so she had to get into her apartment as quickly as she could. The problem? She couldn't find her key.

Her bag was full, as it usually was and even as she shifted aside the contents, her keys were nowhere to be found. She stood at her door, searching through her bag, feeling more and more frustrated and warm in the face as she could find it.

Eventually, she sat down on the floor, back to the door, trying to think through her options with her heavy head. She thought about Apparating, but that would probably get her in a lot of trouble with the Statute of Secrecy. Plus, she had drunk too much to Apparate. She would have crashed at Albus' place, but something about the pitying look he gave her when he left her by her building wasn't very appealing.

And it still smelled like fish.

She was still ruffling through her bag, considering dumping everything out on the ground when she heard footsteps and shuffling down the hallway. Without looking up, she knew who it was, and she wasn't surprised at all when Malfoy's footsteps drew nearer until his shoes were in her peripheral.

"What are you doing?" he asked, and she looked up. He seemed thoroughly confused, still in his lab coat – how was he wearing that? It was _boiling_ outside – and holding a paper bag of what she assumed were groceries.

"I can't find my keys," Rose mumbled.

He paused. "You're joking, right?"

"I'm also pissed, so shut up."

"That much is obvious," he muttered, looking around the empty hallway before taking out his wand. " _Accio_ keys."

Immediately, Rose's keys as well as his own flew into his wand hand.

If possible, she felt even more ashamed.

"Forgot you're a witch, did you?" he asked, not bothering to wait for an answer as he unlocked Rose's door and pushed it open. "After you."

Rose avoided his eyes, honestly considered just dying of embarrassment, right there on the floor. But Scorpius was waiting expectantly, and though she found it difficult to read his expression, it wasn't pity. She was pretty sure.

So she hauled her arse off the ground and went inside. Her purse was left next to the door and her shoes went off next before she beelined for her beautiful, dark grey couch that she'd gotten before she got sacked.

After her display of face planting on the squishy sofa and curling up, Malfoy closed the door behind him, tossed her the keys and kneeled beside the couch. She opened one eye to see him crouching in front of her, watching her, the tiniest trace of amusement on his full pink lips.

"How much did you drink?" he asked.

"Just two," she mumbled, closing her eyes again, "and three-quarters."

"You'll be fine," he decided, straightening up again. "Need some water, or anything?"

"Nah." Rose was suddenly struck with a fantastic idea. "You know what we should do?"

"What's that?"

"Eat ice cream for dinner."

Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't that. Two blond eyebrows practically disappeared into his hair. "What?"

She got up and dragged herself to the kitchen, grabbing Malfoy's arm and taking him with her. She hadn't done much in the way of groceries yet, but she'd managed to get the important things. Reaching into the freezer, she grabbed the two pint-sized cartons of ice cream she had.

"Butter Pecan or Cookies and Cream?" she asked.

He tried not to laugh. "Uh…"

She tossed him the latter, not bothering to wait for an answer. He caught it just in time. She then grabbed a couple of spoons from a drawer and lobbed one to him as well before hoisting herself up onto the countertop beside the sink.

"Bad day?" he asked, putting the ice cream and spoon aside on another counter.

"I got sacked," she admitted, popping the lid off the container and digging her spoon in. "I've only got a couple of weeks to find a new job."

"Ah," he said, dropping his bags on the counter. "Well, that makes sense."

"Why I got sacked?" she said, voice raising.

"No, no," he said quickly, gesturing vaguely to her. "Just, _this._ The drinking and the ice cream."

Rose sighed, tasting another bite of salty sugary goodness. "I was supposed to get my life together, you know?"

"Um, no?"

"This whole moving out thing," she explained impatiently. "I'm supposed to be turning over a new leaf. I was living with my cousin Albus, who is my best friend, besides Roxanne. But then he got engaged and he's getting married next month."

"Oh, I saw something about that in the paper," Malfoy said, leaning back on the counter, arms twisting across his chest. "He's marrying that Muggleborn, right?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked in disbelief, spoon halfway to her mouth.

"Nothing," he said defensively, arms tightening. "I just meant that the wedding must be harder to plan, with all the Muggles."

Rose relaxed, continuing to eat. "Yeah. It's bloody impossible. And I know he didn't want to kick me out, but he had to eventually, and I'm trying to look at this in a positive way. But I'm all sad and he's playing house with Charlotte."

This makes Malfoy laugh. "Marriage is overrated."

"Is it? I didn't get the memo."

"Trust me," he said, looking down at the ice cream carton. He put it back in the freezer. "So, your cousin is getting married and he's not around anymore. Don't you have other friends?"

Her cheeks bloomed. "I do. But they're busy. Roxanne is going to be a Professor at Hogwarts, and she'll be there all year."

"I see."

And he left it at that. No lecturing or expectations.

Which was kind of refreshing, actually.

"As interesting as this was," Malfoy said, reaching for his bags, "I've got to make dinner that's slightly more substantial than ice cream."

"That's probably a mistake," she replied. "Ice cream is probably the best dinner option."

"I'll take your word for it," he said, lips twitching. She watched as he picked up his bags, feeling foolish all over again. Maybe she'd read this all wrong – Malfoy was difficult to understand, that was for certain – and he actually didn't want to hang around her at all.

"Sorry for keeping you," she said quietly, biting her lip.

"Not at all." He paused, bags in hand, glancing at her. "Do you want to join me?"

"Yes," she blurted, going red. But it just made him laugh again. Rose rather liked his laugh.

Maybe they could be friends.

* * *

A/N: Ahem, friends. Of course. ;) Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think of this little development… she's already lost her job, oops.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Malfoy's flat was considerably smaller than hers without any separation from the kitchen, living room or bedroom at all. He had a bed in the corner, overlooking his fireplace, a couch with a coffee table and wardrobe opposite it. A broomstick leaned on the side of the wardrobe. His kitchen was next to the door, compact and tidy. As she entered, Rose noticed there were a ridiculous number of magical plants, all nestled together by the window sill and swaying.

"No roommates?" she asked as he closed the door behind them and tossed his lab coat on the couch. "Besides your plants, I mean."

He didn't answer, taking his bags to his kitchen instead, but she could see he was smiling.

Rose watched, standing beside him as he took out mushrooms, onions and chicken and a few bottles of sauces. He then rummaged through his fridge, coming out with a carton of eggs and a couple of more vegetables.

"What are we making?" she asked.

"Fried rice," he replied, shutting the fridge door with his foot. "I've been trying all the local restaurants in this area and wanted to try making it."

"I should learn how to cook," Rose deliberated, leaning back on the counter as he took a small bowl from a cabinet. "I mean, I can make rice or eggs, but I'm kind of hopeless otherwise. My mum's always on my case about how it's healthy or whatever."

"Want to make the rice, then?" Malfoy scooped a bowl of rice from a larger bag in his cupboard. "Pots are in the cabinet under the sink."

"So how did you learn how to cook?" she asked, taking the bowl.

"Cookbooks, mostly."

"Any particular reason why?"

He shrugged, not looking at her as he grabbed a large wooden cutting board from his drying rack next to the sink. "We grew up with House Elves, but when I moved here, I didn't want to risk the Muggle landlord discovering one."

"That would be hilarious," she added, grinning as she imagined it.

"Yeah." He let out a small laugh. "Plus, I like good food, and I got a little pudgy off the takeout."

Rose observed him for a few moments, still holding the bowl of rice, watching as he gathered vegetables in a colander. Malfoy was a quiet type, that much was obvious. But there was this confidence about him, the way he stood tall without slouching, the way his movements were precise – no second-guessing.

It was insanely attractive.

"So, what do you recommend I learn how to cook?" she asked, watching as he rolled up the sleeves of his checkered button-down. She could barely see the light blonde hair on his forearms. "You know, for an amateur."

"Hmm," he said, thinking as he washed the vegetables, scrubbing the dirt off the mushrooms. "Maybe grilled chicken?"

"That seems difficult."

"Not at all." He glanced at her for a moment. "Might want to start on that rice, though."

She blushed and turned away immediately, looking for a pan. The alcohol was making her even more obvious than usual.

Though she didn't _necessarily_ mind being caught staring.

"Why the interest in cooking, anyway?" he asked as she clanged around the pots and pans cabinet. "It doesn't seem like you particularly care for it."

"I've decided to reinvent myself," Rose told him, and her voice echoed inside the cupboard. "This month was supposed to be a totally new start."

"How so?"

She emerged again, a small steel pot in hand. "New place, right? I wanted to move forward. I started running, got to work on time…" She trailed off, thinking to her plan. "So many things. I want to be independent. Maybe stop drinking so much coffee. And I want to start reading again, too. I used to read so much compared to now."

He moved away from the sink so she could fill her pot with water. "Sounds doable."

"But then I got sacked."

He started chopping the various vegetables. "It happens to all of us. Which department did you say you were in?"

"Magical Transportation." She stuck the pot on the stove burner and took out her wand to light it. "I was a receptionist."

If he was surprised, it didn't show at all in his expression. Just kept chopping. "What are you going to do now?"

"I dunno." She puffed out her cheeks and exhaled a loud breath. "I have no fucking clue."

"You could probably transfer departments," he suggested as he finished chopping the mushrooms, shoving them to the edge of his cutting board. "I'm sure they need a receptionist somewhere else."

"My cousin Albus says I should do something else," she mumbled, watching the still water in the pot. She was still tipsy, and her insecurities felt like they were bursting out of her. "I just don't know what I would do."

He handed her a carrot. "Peel this?"

She complied. "How did you decide to work at the Apothecary?"

He finished chopping the rest of the vegetables and started on the chicken. "Have you heard that my father owns and runs it?"

"Yeah."

"I've been helping out every summer since I was fifteen," he said. "I didn't know what else I wanted to do, and I'm decent at Potions. Thought I could take over the family business one day."

Rose gestured to his window, where his plants were still swaying in the light of the setting sun. "Seems like you have other interests."

"I thought if I pursued it as a career, I wouldn't like it as much." He paused before answering. "Plus, researching doesn't make much money."

"What about grants?"

"From where? The Ministry?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah…" She trailed off and he didn't bother to answer. It was common knowledge that the Malfoys had a less-than-stellar reputation in the eyes of the Ministry. Although it had gotten better over time, especially with Draco Malfoy running the Apothecary in Diagon Alley, they were generally cast in a bad light. Especially in _The Daily Prophet._

He would have no chance at a Ministry research grant, and that was basically all that existed.

She handed the carrot back to him, peeled. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about," he said, sounding determinedly unconcerned. "Do you want to cut that?"

They switched places as he grabbed a large frying pan from the cabinet. They worked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes as the smell of frying garlic and onion filled the room. Malfoy's glasses fogged up, but he ignored it.

Rose thought back about how Malfoy had been teased in school for his family's dark reputation. It never seemed to bother him, but then again, she'd never known him that well during school. He didn't speak up during class, he had his own friends in Slytherin and generally never interacted with her.

He tapped her shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Water's boiling, want to get that?"

They switched places again, his chest brushing against her back. This time, she noticed his cheeks going pink, but it might have just been the heat from the stove.

"So," she said, pouring the rice in the pot, "what's your Quidditch team?"

He paused. "What's yours?"

"The Chudley Cannons," she said proudly, and he shot her a look of disbelief.

"You're joking."

"Everyone says this!" she said, throwing her hands up. "I know they don't win. But they try so hard, and it's inspiring."

He turned to her, leaning his side against the counter. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard."

"Your team, then?"

"Magpies," he replied, and she winced. The Montrose Magpies had won three years in a row.

"Just because they win?"

"I've been their supporter since I was a kid," he corrected smugly.

Rose smiled sweetly at him. "Remember that one year when the Cannons ended up higher up the league than the Magpies?"

His eyes narrowed. "That's only because their manager quit mid-season and they were in the middle of trying to find another one."

"You really have to wonder how good the players are if their manager disappears and suddenly, they can't play anymore," Rose teased.

"That's just not true –"

"Oh, would you look at that? The chicken looks ready," she interrupted, grabbing the handle of the pan and the spatula so she could mix around the cooking chicken and vegetables. "Better check before it gets _burned._ "

Malfoy shook his head as he turned back to the stove, and cracking an egg into the pan, but he was obviously trying not to laugh. "If you ask me, you should reinvent your choice of Quidditch team."

" _Oi_ ," she replied, gently elbowing him in the ribs. "I was only going to reinvent the things I could obviously do better in my life."

"You seem to be doing just fine," he said gently.

She sighed, acutely aware she was blushing again. "I dunno."

He didn't say anything.

She watched as the muscles in his arms flexed when he broke the seal on the sauce bottle. "Seems like my friends are all moving on with their lives, you know?"

He nodded at her to continue.

"Right?" she said, turning her attention to the rice. She grabbed the colander to drain the water from the rice. "They're all working good jobs. They're with someone or they're getting married. They've got their shit together."

Malfoy kept quiet. Instead, he took the rice pot from her, his hand covering hers, making her blush again. He started emptying the rice into the pan of chicken and vegetables, the sizzle and the delicious smell making Rose hungrier.

"You must know what I mean," she said, hating herself for wanting a reaction.

"I guess," he said, mixing the food, "but sometimes life isn't linear like that."

"Says the person whose life is together," she muttered.

"I wouldn't say that, either."

"I've got to find a job in two weeks," she told him. "Or at least before the end of the month."

He hesitated before speaking. "Will it be so difficult? You are a Weasley, after all."

"I guess not," she said, her cheeks colouring this time for an entirely different reason. "But everyone expects so much of me. Sometimes it's jarring."

He shrugged and reached into the cupboard again, bringing out two bowls. "Maybe you'll find something that you like, so you don't think about that pressure."

"I hope so."

"Though, if you ask me, people thinking you'll do something great is probably better than the opposite," he said, pouring the fried rice into the bowls, not looking at her.

Rose felt self-conscious, then; she was such an open book, and he was the exact opposite.

"They're both different forms of pressure," she told him as he handed her a bowl. "I don't do well under pressure."

"Does anyone?" he asked, head tilting to the side.

"Yes," she said shortly, closing her eyes as she took in the smell wafting to her nose. "Malfoy, this actually smells amazing."

"Do you just want to smell it, or would you also be interested in eating it?" he said, looking amused.

"I'm not quite done yet with the sniffing portion of the meal."

He chuckled and went to sit down at his couch. She joined him, probably sitting a little too close, but he didn't seem to mind. He didn't move away, in any case. Their thighs nearly grazed together.

"You can call me Scorpius, by the way," he said before digging into his meal.

After a few mouthfuls, Rose sat back, sinking into the cushions and hugging the bowl to her chest. "Scorpius, I need to borrow this cookbook of yours."

"Sure."

"This is actually incredible."

"It was fairly simple to make."

She pointed a fork at him. "I need you to make this for me. Like, every week."

"Better than the ice cream for dinner, then," he said, sounding pleased.

"So much better." She sighed, starting the feel the knots unravel in her stomach that had tightened since her meeting with her boss that afternoon. Her limbs relaxed into the cushions as she closed her eyes. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"Dinner, I suppose." _And for listening_. She opened her eyes after a few moments and watched him as he ate. He savoured each bite, she noticed. He took his time. Maybe she could learn something from him.

"I like your couch," she said a few minutes later.

"Thanks, I guess."

"I bought mine last week," she told him. "It was expensive. I might return it if I can't find a job."

"That's a shame," he said, though he seemed indifferent.

"Do you want to see it?" she asked, then brightened from an idea. "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"A – what, sorry?" he said, turning and giving her a confused glance.

"A movie," she repeated. "It's like a story, but acted out. Like a play."

"You want to see a play," he said in recognition.

"No, no, a _movie_. It's like a play, but you watch it on a television."

"A what?"

She put down her bowl on the coffee table and put her hands on her hips. "Do you remember anything from Muggle Studies?"

"I didn't take that," he said, sounding apologetic, but he was grinning.

Rose sighed and picked up her bowl before heading towards her flat. Her mum had been the one to teach her most of the Muggle stuff, anyway. "Follow me."

* * *

After seating Scorpius down on her brand-new couch and explaining the large black box that was sitting across from them, he seemed to become more and more confused. She tried to explain it was like a photograph, but it was recorded beforehand and copied over, but he could not seem to grasp the concept. Finally, she gave up.

"How about we just watch?" she asked.

"All right, then," he said immediately, going back to eating his food. She fiddled with the remote, flipping through to find something he might like. Which was difficult, because she didn't know him very well. In the end, she settled on a movie she'd loved and watched several times.

"Wine?" she asked as the movie began to play.

"Sure."

Rose left to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of red wine and two glasses. They sipped as they watched, and she was a little ashamed that she kept glancing at Scorpius from the corner of her eye. She wanted to see his reactions, and the anticipation made her eager.

"This is very strange," he said after a few minutes. "It _is_ like a photograph, but…"

"The special thing about the movie is the story," she said, curling her legs under herself and draping her dress over her knees.

"I get that." He looked at her, brows furrowed. "Why do all these people look like they should be on the cover of magazines?"

Rose laughed. "That's how they cast the actors and actresses."

"So strange," he mumbled, looking back at the screen and sipping his wine. The wine stained his lips darker, drawing her eyes there.

Rose forced her gaze back to the movie, trying not to be even more obvious that she'd been all evening. Besides, it was sort of nice to be sitting with him, finishing their food, drinking their wine and watching the movie in comfortable silence. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a relaxed night in with her friends.

"By the way," she said during a montage scene without any dialogue, "how do you like the new couch?"

Scorpius tore his eyes from the screen to look around. He put his almost drained wine glass down to use his hands to press down and bounce himself on the sofa. "Hmm."

"Does it have the Malfoy seal of approval?"

"I suppose," he said, lips upturning. "Is it part of your big plan to reinvent yourself?"

"The couch? Yes." He started to laugh, and she crossed her arms against her chest, straightening her legs off the couch. "It's like a rite of passage, okay?"

"What else is a rite of passage that I have no idea about?" he asked curiously.

"Learning how to cook," she pointed out, holding up her nearly empty bowl of fried rice. "Travel solo. Get your own place – well, buying one would be nice. Curtains. Get a tattoo."

"Oh, I've got that last one covered," he said nonchalantly.

Rose nearly fell out of her seat.

"You're kidding," she said weakly, doing all she could to not clutch at her heart. Scorpius was full of surprises, wasn't he? "You don't have a tattoo, do you?"

"Not kidding." He was smirking. "What do you want to get?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure yet," she confessed, shrugging, "but I know where I want it."

He cocked his head. "Where's that?"

She put down her bowl on the table before twisting in her seat, lifting her curly red hair and tugging the top of her dress down her back. Just a little, so he could see. "Right there."

To her surprise, he shifted closer and gently traced at her shoulder blade with his thumb. She tried not to shiver at his warm fingers on her skin. "That's a good place. Won't stretch much, I think." He let go as she turned back around, lifting her dress back to how it had been before.

"Any suggestions, then?" she asked, feeling something in between nerves and excitement in her chest. "I might as well add it to my list."

"You're really caught up in this whole reinventing yourself thing, aren't you?" he asked in one breath, like he'd been holding back the words all evening. "Do you really think you're going to be a whole new person in two weeks?"

She looked defiantly at him, meeting his gaze determinedly. His eyes were light grey, she noticed for the first time, with the pupils wide against the iris. "Why not?"

He seemed conflicted, hesitating. At the last moment, he broke his gaze and shrugged. "Never mind."

"Want to admit I'm right?" she goaded.

"Nope."

"I think I won this one, then," she said in a sing-song voice, grinning at him. "You know, Scorpius, I always win."

"You're ridiculous," he said softly, considering her like he couldn't quite understand her. She followed his eyes with hers as they dropped down to her lips, lingering there. That was all needed to lean in and do what he was clearly thinking about.

Her suspicions were confirmed when he met her lips with equal enthusiasm.

The movie entirely forgotten and still flashing behind their eyelids, Rose grasped at Scorpius' collar to pull him in closer. She couldn't tell if he liked this or not because he immediately drew back, but didn't give her a chance to open her eyes before his strong hands grabbed her waist, taking the lead. His lips had been gentle at first, but he was quickly deepening their kiss before she could comprehend what was happening.

Kissing him was an intensity she'd never felt with anyone else. For all his nonchalance and indifference in words, his lips were eager against hers, stubble scraping her chin as he took her bottom lip in between his. He tasted like red wine, and she could feel her lips bruising to that colour.

Without breaking the kiss, Rose shifted her legs on either side of his legs, pressing her dress up her thighs. He immediately slid the bottom of her dress higher until it was bunched up and his hands were cupped outside her dress, around her arse. He let out a low moan that she felt against her chest. The rim of his glasses dug into her cheek. Before she knew it, her hands left his collar and down to the buttons, undoing them.

She'd only undone three before Scorpius' lips dipped to her neck, his kisses turning impossibly soft. One of his hands reached to shift her hair to the side and then she felt his tongue against the sensitive skin. Her hands gripped those strong forearms she'd been admiring earlier, her breathing growing more and more shallow as she felt him in between her legs.

She knew she wanted him, but the moment was dizzying.

She'd started working on the fourth button when he pulled away, chest heaving under her fingers, eyes dark behind his glasses. His hands wrapped around hers. "Rose, wait."

"What?" she asked, voice coming out half-choked.

"You're drunk," he said, the conflicted expression clear across his face for the first time that evening. "We can't."

"I'm not that drunk," she protested, leaning in again, but he kept her hands in his, holding her back.

"You taste like booze," he pointed out.

" _You_ taste like booze."

"Rose," he said gently, one of his hands moving to her jaw. There was a disappointing drop in her chest. "You're beautiful. But this would be a bad idea right now."

How did he know exactly what she was thinking?

She felt herself glue back shut, like a reflex, a safety measure. "Okay. Right. Sorry."

" _I'm_ sorry," he insisted, eyes dropping down, cheeks tinging red. "It's been a while. I kind of lost control."

"How long has it been?" she asked, before she could help herself.

He cleared his throat, still not looking at her properly. "Maybe three years."

 _What the hell_.

But as she looked at him, she didn't have to be a genius to know that he didn't want to talk about it. It began to occur to her that even if they'd spent a whole evening together, she still didn't know him well enough to press into the issue.

"That's okay," she found herself saying, and he finally looked in her eyes again. "It's fine."

"Yeah?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "If I'm being honest, I just want to be friends. I can't really deal with a relationship right now."

His shoulders relaxed, looking extremely relieved. "Me neither."

"Really?" Her fingers tightened around the front of his shirt, which she hadn't realized she was still holding.

"Yes."

"Okay." She let out a long breath she'd been holding. She'd acted without thinking, and now that it was all catching up to her, she was glad the consequences weren't biting her in the arse already. "That's good. Okay."

Scorpius chuckled as she went to do up his buttons. She didn't know why she did that, but he let her do it.

As she shifted off of him and grabbed her half-full wine glass, she realized they'd gone nearly three-quarters through the movie. She took a long sip as Scorpius adjusted himself, shifting away from her.

"So, movies?" she asked, attempting to return to normalcy. "Any verdict yet?"

"Oh. Yeah, I suppose," he said, scratching at the back of his neck. "I'm not a fan."

" _What_?" she all but shouted, shocked.

"They seem sappy."

"They're not all sappy," she protested, making him smile. "I promise. I am going to convert you to a movie enthusiast."

"Sure, sure," he said, taking the bottle of wine and pouring more for himself.

Despite the slight awkwardness and initial dislike for movies, Scorpius stayed for the end of the movie. Rose spent most of the time explaining the story to him, and to the movie's credit, he was enraptured by it, admitting the music was excellent. He left her flat an hour later, wishing her good night.

It was only when she was lying in bed a little while later, left alone with her thoughts, that she realized he might actually enjoy her company. She had no idea why he might, but she couldn't explain it, otherwise. And for a reason she couldn't completely define, she enjoyed his company as well.

She was being honest, though. She definitely didn't need a relationship at that point.

But if she was being fully honest, she had no idea how she could be just friends with Scorpius.

* * *

A/N: A development in their "friendship" … thoughts on it? :) Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think of the chapter!


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

The sun was red and peeking at the horizon when Rose slipped halfway into consciousness. She could feel a rumbling from her bed right before the booming of extremely loud rock music bled through her walls. She brought a pillow over her head, which, as expected, didn't help at all. It turned out that Scorpius hadn't been joking about their neighbour at all.

She cracked an eye open and grasped at her bedside table for her wand – which, of course, wasn't there. She'd left it in her purse, which was _of course_ next to her front door, where she'd left it the previous night. She hoped that she'd at least locked the door before she slept.

This is why she wasn't an Auror.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at wandless magic, Rose crept out of bed and practically crawled to her purse to cast a Silencing charm. After the relief of her eardrums had worn off, she realized she could feel the hardwood floors still trembling, even if she couldn't hear the music itself. How had the building not evicted this man?

Sitting there on the floor, squinting from the sunrise, she realized that there was still a pounding in her head, like she'd been smacked round by a Bludger. Her mouth was dry and a slight nausea was twisting in her stomach. She realized, for the first time in her twenties, she was hungover.

Brilliant.

After drinking some water, curling back into bed and sleeping a few more hours, she woke up feeling considerably better. She supposed the night before was the most she'd had to drink in a while; with all the wedding preparations, she and her friends hadn't gone out to pubs or parties nearly as much as they used to.

Sulking about her newfound inability to handle alcohol, Rose showered, dressed and went out to meet Roxanne for brunch at a pub in Diagon Alley. They'd resolved, even with Roxanne all the way at Hogwarts, that they would at least meet on the weekends. They'd just gotten their drinks and ordered their food when Rose admitted she'd gotten sacked.

"Oh, shit," Roxanne said, jaw dropping.

"Yeah." Rose sighed. "I'm honestly torn between miserable and relieved."

"Really?" Roxanne asked, picking up her glass of iced coffee and taking a sip.

"I was more miserable last night," Rose clarified, "but now that I've slept on it, I'm kind of relieved? I mean, I don't want to be a receptionist forever."

"Thank Merlin," Roxanne muttered.

"I just don't know what else to do," she continued, as if she hadn't heard. "I feel like I'm seventeen and starting all over again."

"Not exactly," Roxanne pointed out, tapping her index twice against the table. "You've got some experience and plenty of connections."

"But I don't have anything I _love_ doing," Rose reminded her. "Besides reading books, I suppose. And I barely even do that anymore. Reading books isn't even a real passion."

"I'm remembering why you had so much trouble with this in the first place," Roxanne said, amused. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you don't need to love anything to do work and pay the bills."

"Yes, I've realized that over the years." Rose fidgeted, fingers weaving back and forth with each other, restless. "But wouldn't it be nice, Roxy?"

"Yes, probably." She took a long drink of iced coffee and licked her lips. "I mean, I don't love kids, but I do love the subject, and I love Hogwarts. I get the balance, I suppose."

"I get that." Rose started on her coffee, pouring in a good amount of cream before stirring it and taking a sniff. "How's Noah taking it?"

Roxanne shrugged. She and Noah Finnegan had been together since their fifth year of Hogwarts. They had both gone on to be Curse Breakers for several years, and while the profession seemed to suit Noah, Roxy had always hated the constant travelling. Eventually, that was what pushed her to apply for an open position as a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

"I can't believe you're going to be Professor," Rose said, leaning back and sipping her coffee, holding the mug in both hands like it was a life support. "You _hated_ the Professors when we were in school."

"It's a conflicting thought," she confessed, running a hand through her thick, dark brown curls. "I don't think I'd have it in me to break up any parties."

"Those were fun," Rose remembered fondly, and specifically how she'd always shirk her duties when it came to breaking up Hogwarts parties.

"That reminds me!" Roxy said as a plate of toast, scrambled eggs and bacon floated in front of her and landed on the table in front of her. "The annual bonfire party at the beach is this week. I think it's just our year."

A plate of eggs benedict and fruit landed in front of Rose. "When is it?"

"Thursday night."

"Thursday?" Rose repeated, raising an eyebrow as she grabbed her fork and knife. "I have to work Friday. Still two weeks before I'm sacked for good."

"Skip," Roxy said before biting off a large chunk of toast.

"I can't just skip work."

"Yes, you can. I'm going to."

"You're in training. It's different."

"Not _that_ different. I don't even work full days yet."

Rose cut off a piece of her eggs and swirled in in the hollandaise sauce. She liked parties, but she felt apprehensive at the thought of them. Especially now that she knew she'd probably be hungover. "I dunno. Literally all my exes are going to be there."

"You are _not_ ditching me," Roxy said firmly, pointing her fork in Rose's direction, "especially not for some exes! You're friends with most of them."

"I wouldn't say that," Rose mumbled.

"You always hesitate," Roxy persisted, "and then you're happy I dragged you there."

"Is anyone else going to be there?"

Roxanne sensed Rose was talking about their friends. "Charlotte and Al said maybe, but Ella and Skye are definitely down."

"Fine, I'll come," she decided, popping a strawberry into her mouth. Roxy was right, and she always ended up enjoying parties if her friends were there. "I miss hanging out with Ella and Skye. Are we still going to Al's tonight?"

"Yeah, and Noah's coming too."

"Oh, I didn't know he was in town?"

Rose and Roxanne continued chatting over their breakfast, catching up on everything that happened over the week. For some reason, Rose felt hesitant talking about what happened the night before with Scorpius. It wasn't that she didn't trust Roxy – she'd heard about all of Rose's boyfriend disasters before – but this was a territory mostly uncharted for Rose.

She thought of the first time she'd hooked up with someone, several months before. It was the result of a mistletoe at Roxanne's Christmas party. She'd ended up snogging someone whose name she couldn't remember – she vaguely remembered a French accent, running her fingers through soft dark curls – in a secluded corner. They'd gone back to her place after, and although it had only lasted a night and she'd woken up alone, she was satisfied.

Rose had always been a little impulsive, but she'd generally stuck to being in relationships. And now, between her first teenage relationship feeling a little too bland, the second one's terrible communication and the third's constant fighting, Rose was willing to continue on a different path that didn't involve the constant anxiety of having a "good" relationship.

She knew Roxanne would understand that, even if she didn't share that anxiety.

"So," Rose began in a lull in conversation, scraping at the last of her food. "I almost slept with someone last night."

"Oh," Roxanne replied in surprise, mouth full of eggs. "Nice, who?"

She hesitated, voice small. "I don't want to tell you who it is."

"You… okay," Roxy said, shrugging off the initial shock. "Fair enough. What happened?"

This was why she loved Roxanne.

"He cooked me dinner," she described, putting her fork down. "I'd been drinking, because I was drowning my sorrows last night, but he was nice about it. Sort of. And then we snogged, but he stopped it from going further because of said drinking."

"Wow. And then?"

"Nothing. He left." She looked down at the table, feeling her cheeks reddening. "It was pretty hot."

She could see Roxanne smirking from the corner of her eye. "Better than Davies?" she asked, referring to her most recent ex-boyfriend.

"Way better." Rose exhaled and rested her elbows on the round wooden table, thinking back to Scorpius' hands and lips, insistent and confident. "How was just snogging so much better than sex with any of my exes?"

"I guess I wouldn't know," Roxanne said, considering it as she nibbled at the end of her toast. "My best guess is that you usually had high expectations for them, especially Davies. And they always disappointed you."

Rose looked at Roxanne in disbelief. "How are you so smart?"

"Says the girl who read a hundred and three books in her sixth year."

"Oh yeah," Rose said, chuckling. She made a mental reminder to drop by the bookstore for a much-needed new book before doing her groceries. "Anyway, I kind of want to do it again."

"You want to date your mystery man?"

"Not exactly," she admitted, draining the last of her coffee to avoid looking at Roxanne. "I have to find a new job, set up my new place… it's just not the right time."

Roxanne smirked. "Friends with certain benefits?"

She groaned. "Don't make it sound so awful."

"Sounds exciting to me," Roxanne said mischievously. "What about him?"

"I told him I just wanted to be friends, and he seemed pretty relieved."

"Looks like you've got yourself a winner," Roxanne said, reaching into her bag and dropping a couple of galleons and sickles onto the table. Rose followed suit. "Anyway, I have to get going. Noah wants to do something or another this afternoon."

"I'll see you at Al's tonight," Rose said, standing to hug Roxanne. "I have to grab groceries and a cookbook or something. My parents are coming tomorrow night to check out the new place."

"I need to check it out, too. Maybe next weekend?" Roxanne promised.

"Sounds great."

After Roxanne waved goodbye, Rose wandered Diagon Alley, thankful for the lovely Saturday sunshine. She ventured into Flourish and Blotts, nostalgic for back-to-school shopping that she still missed at times, even with so many years after graduation.

Upon entering, Rose heard the jingle of the doorbell, got the whiff of dusty books and felt the quieter atmosphere. A sigh of relief went through her.

Something about the bookstore was instantly calming to Rose, settling the jumbled feelings that had been plaguing her belly since she'd gotten sacked. Everything about Flourish and Blotts was familiar; they never changed anything, really, besides the displays. She took a moment just to venture through her favourite aisles, running her finger along the various spines.

As a child, one of her favourite weekend visits was to the bookstore, which was one of the only things she had in common with her mother. They didn't even like the same kinds of books; where her mum talked excitedly about non-fiction titles in new research and knowledge, Rose much preferred fiction. She loved to escape into new worlds.

She then browsed through numerous cookbooks, wondering which one Scorpius used and wishing she could ask. But she had no idea if he was feeling awkward after their little snog session the night before – though he didn't _seem_ bothered by it – and didn't want to seem too eager.

Except she was, and she didn't really know how to propose the whole "friends with benefits" scheme, as Roxanne had put it.

Rose settled for _Cooking the Muggle Way_ , which seemed to have some recipes she might enjoy. She took a chance on the current fiction best-seller, _Blessing in Plain Sight_ , at the recommendation of the cashier. If she was going to begin reading again, she might as well start with a highly acclaimed read.

Before she left the bookstore, she also picked up a copy of _The Daily Prophet_ from a newsstand. She couldn't delay it any longer, especially when she really should have started years ago. Maybe even at seventeen-years-old.

It was time to start the job-hunting process.

* * *

Apparently, finding a job in the middle of the summer was impossible, even for a Weasley.

A full fridge later and a fresh cup of coffee beside her, Rose was poring over the ads in _The Daily Prophet_ , looking for a job posting – _any_ job – that suited her. She'd taken a new page in a notebook and written down a few of her better qualities: hard-working, intelligent, organized… fast-reader? This was the more difficult part.

There were very few jobs posted at this time. She mainly found jobs at the Ministry, but she occasionally came across the odd job in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. She found a position open as a barista at Rosa Lee Teabag and another as a cashier at Honeydukes. Interesting, but not exactly what she was looking for.

Eventually, she found a small ad that surprised her: a shopkeeper at the Apothecary that Scorpius and his father owned and managed together. ' _Must have experience with potion brewing and/or medicinal herbology.'_ That definitely did not suit her expertise.

But… what about other shops?

Rose's brain suddenly buzzing, she scanned any openings for shop keeping at her favourite shops. Flourish and Blotts, of course. Obscurus books. The second-hand bookshop. Even the stationary shops that sold parchment and quills would be interesting to her. She jotted down a list in her notebook before combing through the paper. The only thing she found was an opening at Tomes and Scrolls. In Hogsmeade.

Rose frowned. She didn't want to live in Hogsmeade, so far away from her family and friends. Even if Roxanne was close by at Hogwarts, it wasn't the same.

She resolved to apply anyway, and began to draft up a resumé to drop off around Diagon Alley the next day. She was almost excited; she could think of many different ideas she'd had for bookstores over the years, including different displays, the many books she'd had to request over the years that could have just been pre-ordered at publication and reading nooks. She would love to chat with customers about books all day.

The excitement suddenly drained out of her as she thought of her parents.

Her father probably wouldn't have much of an issue, he was more easy-going. Her uncle on her father's side ran a joke shop, for crying out loud – although he did own it. Maybe she could own her own bookstore one day?

It was her mother that made her feel uneasy, caused her to shut her notebook and rub her hands over her eyes. Her mum meant well, but she always wanted a lot for Rose that seemed a little over the top. She wasn't an activist and wasn't really the research type. Shop keeping would probably be disappointing for her mum.

Rose was going back to reading the Ministry openings when she heard a bang and shouting from outside her door. Shoving her chair back, she jogged to her door, opened it and poked her head into the hallway.

A balding middle-aged man wearing a white wifebeater that did nothing to hide his potbelly was shouting at the top of his lungs at something below him. When she looked down, she realized he was berating a gray tabby cat with little green eyes, meowing angrily back at him. Seemed like the neighbour's cat didn't like him much, either.

When her neighbour saw Rose, he swore and stalked back into his flat, slamming the door behind him. His cat curled up in the middle of the hallway, ducking its head into itself.

Before she knew it, she was in front of the cat, kneeling down on her knees. The cat ducked his head out again, looking up at Rose with wide eyes. He looked somewhere between terrified and irritated, but she was going to bet on the former.

She heard a noise down the hall and saw Scorpius outside his flat and looking curiously at her, clearly having watched the entire commotion. She smiled at him before standing up to grab a little bowl and milk for the cat.

When she came back out, the cat was looking at Scorpius wearily, more familiar with his neighbour but untrusting. Scorpius had come closer, still standing, and the height was unnerving for the little cat. Rose set the bowl down in front of her door and pulled Scorpius by the arm, bringing them both into her flat before she shut the door.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she reached up on her toes, peering through the front door peephole.

"Making a new friend, obviously," she joked, squinting to see the cat. It was eyeing the bowl with suspicion. "He looks like he needs it."

"That's probably accurate."

"Why hasn't our neighbour gotten evicted?" Rose wondered aloud, watching the cat as it got up. "He seems awful."

"I think he's related to the building owner," Scorpius lamented.

"Ooh, the cat's walking up to it," Rose commentated, eyebrows raising. "He's sniffing it… yes! He's drinking it!"

"He's like you," Scorpius said, and she looked back to him. His face was completely slack, serious. "He sniffs his food before eating."

She shoved him playfully. "Shut up." But Rose liked that Scorpius was a little more open than he was the night before. Maybe he was starting to warm up to her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, chuckling.

"Better," she said, moving back towards her dining table, where the newspaper was still spread out. She began to fold it up. "I've been looking for job postings."

"We have one in there," he said, following her. "Trying to find a few people who can take the closing shift so we can open a little later."

"How do you like working in a shop?" she asked, crossing her arms against her front. "I'm considering applying. But maybe in Flourish and Blotts."

Scorpius shrugged. "I like it. It can get boring sometimes between rushes, but if you can find something that occupies your mind, it can be quite rewarding."

"What do you do to occupy your mind?" she asked curiously.

"Whatever's around," he said, but he stepped closer, making her breath catch in her throat. "You look nice today."

Rose uncrossed her arms as she looked down, avoiding his gaze as she blushed. She was wearing a green dress with large pink flowers – one her favourite summer dresses. "Thanks. You don't look so bad, yourself."

He looked down at his neatly pressed button-down and trousers. "I'm heading to work soon."

"On a Saturday evening?"

"Someone has to close."

There was a beat of silence where she wondered whether she should bring up the night before. Even then, in casual conversation, she wanted to snog the pants off of him – maybe she was just hornier than she thought. And he had to be feeling the same way, judging by last night, and especially if he was telling the truth about it having been three years.

Then she thought better of it. You couldn't _ask_ someone to be your fuck buddy.

"What else have you got planned for your weekend?" she asked instead, sitting down at her little rickety dining table. She found the table at the flea market, which Albus found unhygienic, but she cleaned it pretty thoroughly.

It was just vintage, okay?

Scorpius pulled his sleeve up to check a silver-rimmed wristwatch before he sat down across from her. "Besides work tonight? I think I might go to my family's cottage tomorrow."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "You're the cottage-going, outdoorsy sort?"

"I guess," he said, voice on the edge of defensive.

"What in the world are you doing living in the middle of the city?"

"I like the city, too," he said, leaning his elbows on the table. "Nice place to walk. Anyway, what are you doing this weekend? Setting up your flat?"

She looked around. Besides the pieces of furniture here and there, the flat looked much more naked than she'd expected. She supposed her old flat had six years of things accumulating, both from herself and her cousin, but she hadn't thought she would have trouble filling the spaces.

Though she had no trouble stuffing her closet.

"Probably not," she admitted, "this is basically all I have."

"Ah, I see."

"I'll probably get curtains next, when I find another job."

"Curtains?" he repeated, tilting his head in confusion. He gestured to the white plastic blinds on her windows, the ones that had come with the apartment. "Why do you need those?"

"Oh, Scorpius," Rose said, shaking her head, trying not to notice how his hair looked practically golden from the sunlight. "You don't understand these things."

He laughed. "Is this like your damn couch being a rite of passage?"

"All of these things are milestones!" she protested. "Couches. New mattress. Curtains."

"Sounds like pieces of furniture to me."

She sighed dramatically, making him laugh again. "Maybe you'll understand one day."

"Perhaps," he said, sounding amused.

"My parents are coming to supper tomorrow," she said, feeling her smile drooping as she thought of it. "And my brother, though he and my dad just want to eat. My mum is going to be evaluating the place."

Scorpius looked around before glancing confusedly at her. "It looks clean to me."

"It's not just that," she explained, leaning forward. "It's all the milestones. How much I paid for all of it. The quality of my cooking."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating?" he asked. "My mum doesn't give a shit about all that."

"That's because you're a man."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not playing gender politics with you."

"That's because I'd win." Before he could disagree, she said, "Anyway, do you have any ideas on what I should make for their dinner? You know, something that I wouldn't poison anyone with?"

"Hmm, the woman asking the man what to cook," Scorpius teased, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, you could just stick with the classics."

"What's that?"

"Roast dinner, maybe?" he suggested. "You know, chicken, potatoes, a few vegetables. For you, I'd probably consider the store-bought gravy."

"That's the painful truth, my friend," Rose said, nodding slowly. "Right, yes. That's what we're going to do."

" _We_?" he emphasized questioningly, checking his watch again.

"Yes, _we_!" she said. "I need all the help I can get."

"I'm going to the cottage tomorrow," he reminded her, standing up and pushing the chair back in. "I'm heading there in the morning."

"Then come in the early evening!" she said, also getting up and following him, trying to put on her best pleading face. "Please. Scorpius."

"You want me to make food for your family and then have dinner with them?" he said, shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

"You don't have to meet them," she said, grabbing his arm before he could open the door to the hall. "Just help me make the chicken. That's all I'm asking."

He kept trying to pull out of her grasp, but she could tell he was trying not to be rough with her, which was working well to her advantage. She gripped tightly onto his arm, not caring if she was wrinkling his sleeve in the struggle.

Finally, he gave up, looking at the ceiling. "Fine. But I have to go to work."

"Thank you!" she said happily, and even though she was still feeling a little awkward about the night before, she threw her arms around his shoulders – but only for a moment. Still, when she drew back, his face had gone pink. "I owe you."

"You certainly do," he mumbled grumpily, straightening his glasses before he turned away. When he opened the door, Rose could see the neighbour's cat, curled up next to the now-empty bowl of milk and napping.

She looked triumphantly at Scorpius, who was shaking his head in disbelief. "This cat is going to be my friend."

"You do love making friends," he called over his shoulder, the flat tone of his voice echoing in the hall. "Maybe you should put that on your resumé."

"Oi!" she called back indignantly.

He grinned at her before disappearing down the steps.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for your response to the last chapter! Sorry for stopping the snogging so soon – I promise there will be some steamy scenes later on ;) I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know what you think!

Next: more cooking fun with Scorpius :)


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Going back to Rose's old flat was a definite in-between feeling. It definitely didn't have that comfort that she used to feel when she'd gotten home from a long day, but it wasn't unfamiliar and cold, either. It was a very odd feeling.

Not that Charlotte or Albus had changed the flat in particular. Charlotte had moved in, so more of her things were lying around than usual. Rose's old bedroom was now a practically-empty room that she assumed they were setting up as an office, or a guest room. _Or a nursery_ , she considered in horror.

She did love her new place. It was all hers, she never had to encounter Albus' hair all over the sink when he shaved, she didn't have to wash all of the pots and pans because he didn't bother to do it before she needed to cook and there was a laundry unit inside her flat, rather than in the basement. What more could she ask for, really?

Nevertheless, she spent the evening feeling slightly off about it all.

That, coupled with the fact that she was hanging around _couples_ the entire evening, was enough to drive her mad.

When Rose got to her old place, her friends were already there, seated around the living room and squabbling over popcorn. Charlotte, Ella and Skye had taken up the three-seater, so she joined Roxanne and her boyfriend Noah on the floor in front of them. She could see Albus entertaining Felix Hughes and Everett Walker – Ella and Skye's partners – in the kitchen.

"Rose!" Roxanne practically shouted as she sat down on the carpet beside her. "We're trying to decide between The Luxx or XO for Charlotte's bachelorette party."

"What's the score so far?" Rose asked, grabbing the bowl of popcorn. She and her friends had frequented XO Club a number of times over the years, but The Luxx was definitely on the high-end.

"Us two for The Luxx," Roxanne replied, gesturing between herself and Skye, "and them two for XO." She pointed at Charlotte and Ella.

"The Luxx is expensive," Charlotte said in her 'I'm-trying-to-be-reasonable' voice. "I don't want to put you out." Rose then looked to Ella, who merely shrugged. She was always the type to back up Charlotte.

"And Noah?" Rose asked, peering beside Roxanne to look at him.

"Don't look at me," he said, putting his hands up. "I'm just here for the pizza."

"Ooh, there's pizza?" she asked excitedly.

"Don't let that distract you!" Roxanne protested as the rest of them laughed. "Charlotte, if we promise to you that it's not a big deal, will you let us book Luxx?"

Charlotte hesitated, and she could see Charlotte's eyes flitting to Rose for a nanosecond before she bit her lip. "If it's okay with everyone."

Rose felt her cheeks burn. "It's fine with _me_ ," she said, taking a handful of popcorn. "I vote for Luxx."

As the rest of her friends chimed in around her, trying to reassure the bride-to-be, Albus came out of the kitchen and plopped down beside her, handing her a bottle of beer. She offered him a small smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked as Felix and Everett took a seat on the other couch.

"Fine," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "How's the seating plan going?"

"Keep your voice down," he whispered, looking back and forth inconspicuously.

"That bad, huh?"

"Shh!" he shushed loudly, widening his eyes dramatically and making her laugh.

She took a swing of beer and crossed her feet underneath her legs. "So, I hear there's pizza?"

They spent some time discussing the bachelorette party and outfits before the pizza came. Even though she was surrounded by couples, her friends were evidently trying to include her, which she appreciated. And even though Albus and Roxanne had unquestionably told the rest of the group about Rose losing her job, no one mentioned it.

Eventually the conversation turned to hair and makeup appointments, bridesmaid's photos and the like. Rose noted that the men in the room seemed to be quite bored and began talking about Quidditch, effectively splitting the room between men and women – just like all the house parties her parents had hosted growing up.

She was turning into her parents. Joy.

Rose was interrupted in the middle of a thrilling chat in which Ella was considering dying her hair from more of a dark blonde to more of a light-blonde for the wedding photos when Albus pulled her into the kitchen.

"You looked like you needed a bit of rescuing," he joked once they were out of earshot.

"Maybe a little," she admitted, shrugging. "I mean, I love them, but I'm getting a little sick of the wedding talk."

"I talked to my supervisor yesterday," he said, leaning against the counter and looking at her closely. "I asked him if there were any open positions at the office."

"Oh." She tried to keep her face slack, but internally, she already knew she didn't want to work in the Auror office. It was widely known around the Ministry for being fast-paced and had the most overtime out of all the other departments. Albus had trained for years at the Auror Academy just to get promoted out of the field. She herself didn't like the field, and Albus knew it.

"I know you said you didn't want any help," he said carefully, "but I just asked. You don't have to apply."

Rose felt bad, then. She knew Albus only ever looked after her, and it wouldn't be fair to dismiss the job right away.

"I appreciate it," she said, gently nudging him with an elbow. "What did your supervisor say?"

"There's a position in admin," he said. "The Aurors have to do a lot of reports, so we need someone to do the editing, write it up properly, work in the legal jargon…"

He trailed off and Rose exhaled slowly. "Not sure I've ever done anything like that before."

"You'd be an assistant," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean, to start. You can work your way up if you study some of the legal stuff."

"I'll consider it," Rose said as gratefully as she could, though inside she was apprehensive. She'd gotten caught up thinking that maybe she would be able to do something she really liked, for once. And not just something to pay the bills.

Albus grinned. "I knew you would. I think you'd like it – I mean, you like reading, don't you?"

"Sure," she said, not bothering to remind him that she loved fiction. Not to mention she wasn't a writer or had any idea about law. "Yeah, why not? I'll apply."

He slung an arm around her shoulders and led her back into the gathering. She was glad; Rose was now feeling more ready to talk about what kind of smoky eye makeup she was going to do for Charlotte's bachelorette party, or about more dress fittings, or even about the seating arrangement.

Anything other than talking about jobs.

* * *

The night ended with an inevitable game of Exploding Snap, a full argument of who had the better Seeker, the Harpies or the Tornadoes, and a drunken belting of "This is the Night" by The Weird Sisters. Overall, Rose had a great night with her friends and went home feeling happy.

Luckily, she hadn't woken up hungover at all – only had a couple of beers with some cheesy pizza – and was able to continue her running regimen. This time, she'd been able to run (albeit slowly) for thirty full minutes before going into the grocery store for supplies for dinner with her family. She felt the burn in her legs as she walked home.

 _Self-improvement_ , she recited to herself with every painful step.

Since Rose had already been cleaning and arranging her new flat for days, she spent the rest of the day lazing about her room for as long as possible, reading her new book and humming along to the Wireless.

When Scorpius knocked on her door later, she'd just finished getting ready and swiping the last bit of eyeliner. She'd gone for her all-purpose little black dress that was a life-saver in basically every single situation.

And judging by the look on Scorpius' face and the way he cleared his throat when she answered the door, she was right.

"I bought everything I think we'll need," she said, shutting the door and grinning behind his back. "I also looked up the recipe in my new cookbook but it seems complicated."

"How?" he asked, following her to her kitchen. He peered over her shoulder at the open book on the counter. "Can I see what you got?"

She took out the drumsticks, vegetables and gravy she'd bought that morning, following the ingredient list in the book. Scorpius immediately put her in charge of the chopping while he threw the chicken in a large bowl and started rooting through her spice cabinet.

"It's fairly simple," he said, adding things as he spoke. "A few herbs, a couple of spices and then just toss it around – are you even listening?" he challenged, raising an eyebrow at her.

She blushed, caught staring at him instead of the bowl. "Yes." He rolled his eyes.

In her defense, he was terribly distracting.

She watched as he continued prepping, barely hearing him as he instructed how to marinate and add the specific ingredients. She liked to watch his arms flexing as he worked, and he seemed not to have any problems keeping focus. When she nearly sliced her thumb while peeling the carrots, she tried to snap out of it.

"How was the cottage?" she asked when he finished.

"Good," he said. "It was a nice day out."

"No work today?" she added, looking at his clothing. He was dressed far more casually than usual, in a navy tee and fitted khaki shorts.

"Shop's not open on Sundays," he replied, side-stepping her to wash his hands at the sink.

"How do you like working with your dad?"

"It's fine," he said, starting to fiddle with her oven to preheat it. Rose directed him towards a baking sheet and some foil paper before peeling some potatoes she'd boiled earlier.

"What made him decide to buy it out?" she asked as she chopped the carrots into thin slices. "Did he study medicinal potions after Hogwarts?"

"Not exactly," he said, shaking his head in amusement. "You're so curious."

"Yes," she said frankly, nodding.

He hesitated. "I dunno if you know this, but my family lost a lot of our wealth a while ago."

She blinked at him. "Wait, really? How?"

"My grandfather was sued," he said awkwardly, ripping a piece of foil and placing it on the baking tray. "I'm not sure exactly what he did, but he lost a trial for bribing the Ministry during the war. Apparently, he had a lot of inside connections that he exploited. It was all over the papers."

That certainly explained a lot to Rose. She wasn't sure what the Malfoys did in the war, either, but her father always mumbled something about the Malfoys being cold-hearted cowards. Though she could recognize Scorpius' somewhat cool-ish demeanour, he was more defensive than callous.

"Anyway," he said into the silence, since she hadn't answered, "my family lost a lot of money. We still had the Manor and the cottage but not much else. The Apothecary was an investment, of sorts. My father studied during his free time and made it work."

"That's smart."

Scorpius gave her a grateful glance, as though he was relieved. This confused her, as she couldn't imagine herself thinking anything else, but before she could say anything, he focused back on placing the chicken on the baking sheet and ended the conversation.

Rose could admit that she found him extremely fascinating. She was so used to a family of Gryffindors, loud and proud of their hearts worn on their sleeves. Scorpius was a refreshing change from that. She couldn't be sure that she wasn't annoying the shit out of him, but for some reason, she still wanted to be around him.

"How do you like your family?" he asked, as though he could read her mind. She looked at him, and he was gazing at her curiously. "Family of war heroes."

She shrugged. "It's a lot of pressure."

"Ah," he said in recognition as he slipped the chicken into the oven and set the timer. "You may have mentioned that."

"Might have," she said defensively, turning back to her bowl of peeled potatoes and starting to mash them. She felt like he could see right through her, and it was annoying.

"I get it." He leaned on the opposite counter, and she could see him watching her from the corner of her eye. "Are you nervous for tonight?"

"A little bit," she disclosed. "I mean, it will be nice to see my parents. I love spending time with them. But I have a feeling my cousin Albus probably told them that I lost my job."

"Lots of people spend time between jobs."

"Sure." She stared down at the bowl determinedly as the potatoes blended together. "But most people have some sort of direction in their careers."

"I don't think so."

She laughed, cringing at how false and awkward it sounded. "I dunno. I'll figure it out. Albus told me about this position in his office."

"Where does he work?" he asked.

"Auror department," she told him. "The position is for a technical writer, I suppose. Someone to write up all those reports they need for legal purposes. I guess it saves time."

"Sounds interesting."

"Define interesting," she muttered, and he laughed.

"Maybe not, then," Scorpius said as he came up to her. His shoulder bumped against hers as he dipped a finger at the side of the bowl and licked the small scoop of potatoes off his finger. "Needs more salt."

Rose swallowed and avoided his gaze as she reached for the salt.

"Try it now," she said after adding some salt and seasoning and mixing it. Her eyes unwillingly followed his lips, tasting the food, tongue darting out to lick his lips. She swore he was doing that on purpose, but he seemed wholly unaffected by it. He didn't seem to realize how close he was standing or what it did to her.

It was probably why he was slow to react when she reached on her toes and kissed him.

Hands still aloft, Scorpius' surprise was evident as Rose slid her arms around his shoulders. He responded a moment later, mouth much gentler against hers than the last time. He shifted his hands onto her hips and moved her towards the opposite counter and pressed her against it.

She felt the fabric of her dress bunching in his hold as he gripped her. It felt so insanely good to be pressed against him, the warmth of him settling something deep inside her chest. She brought him closer, reached higher on her toes, wanting more.

Then, without warning, he lifted her onto the empty counter.

Rose was sure something in her brain was short circuiting as he moved between her legs. Even if this wasn't as quick or reckless as the last time, she still felt the urgency in the way he seemed to devour her. He was playing with the hem of her dress at her thighs before he pulled her closer, hands against her skin. The feeling made her breath hitch against his lips.

The sound seemed to interrupt his trance. He stilled, like he was realizing what had just happened.

He leaned away slowly, still catching his breath. "I thought… you wanted…"

"I know," she said, biting her lip. There really was no easy way to ask someone this, was there? "I thought – if you want, that is – we could still do this. And be friends."

He stared at her, visibly confused. "I really don't want a relationship, Rose."

"Me neither," she said deliberately. She'd never seen him so rattled, and she was hoping this wasn't a bad idea. "No dating, no romance, nothing. Just friends. And this."

He moved away again and let her go, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with the end of his t-shirt. "I dunno. I've never done anything like that."

"Me neither," she repeated, letting her fingers come together and twist around. "I guess I'm kind of attracted to you. But I'm over the whole relationship thing."

"Why's that?" he asked, putting his glasses back on and looking at her again.

She shrugged, feeling infuriated at the thought, but she kept her voice steady. "I've tried it before, and it's just… boys expect so much. They like you in the beginning and then they're constantly asking you to change this way and that. Then they blame you for changing."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. That's happened to me."

"Yeah?"

"But not with boys," he clarified, making her laugh, making him smile again.

The timer sounded, and Rose watched as he moved to flip the chicken in the oven. She slipped off the counter and shifted her dress down as he shut the oven door and set the timer again. Then he watched her as she heated up a pan to cook her vegetables.

She tried not to meet his gaze, even though it was burning a hole in the back of her head. It was entirely possible that she'd embarrassed herself twice, kissing him like a madwoman, suggesting a ridiculous version of a friendship. Maybe he was thinking of ways to run away and never encounter her again.

But she meant every word, even if she dreaded the response.

"Rose," he began, but didn't continue.

"I'm sorry," she said in a rush, focusing on dumping her vegetables in the pan to avoid looking at him straight-on. "I didn't mean to say we couldn't be friends. I like spending time with you. I still want to convert you into a movie enthusiast."

"I know what you meant." He took her arm and turned her so that she was looking at him. His voice was quiet. "Can I think about it?"

She exhaled, nodding in relief. "Yeah. Okay."

The truth was, what Rose felt for Scorpius was really unlike what she felt like with her ex-boyfriends. She wasn't thinking about him constantly, dissecting every conversation to understand how he felt about her – the beginnings of a crush. That wasn't there at all.

And okay, the snogging was electrifying, he was fascinating, she liked talking to him, but in the end, she wasn't really interested in all the lovey-dovey stuff with him. And shouldn't she want that from someone she wanted to date – flowers, romance, sweet confessions, the works?

He pushed his lips together, nearly disappearing in a line. He wasn't saying anything, but it was clear what he was thinking about. Even through the mortification of putting herself out on the line, she knew he felt some sort of mutual attraction to her, because he definitely wanted to fuck her on the counter.

"I'm going to go," he decided suddenly. "You should take out the chicken after the timer goes off."

"You should take some," Rose said immediately, turning to grab a plate from the cabinet. "You helped me, so I can at least feed you."

"No, it's okay," he said, taking her hand before she could open the cupboard, making her blush all over again. "I'm not very hungry. I might just have leftovers later on."

"If you're sure?" she asked, but he was saying goodbye and out the door before she could say anything else. Checking the clock on her stove, she realized her family would probably be arriving in ten minutes, either way.

She had to pull herself together, and fast.

* * *

Her parents came a little later than ten minutes, giving Rose just enough time to finish cooking the food and set up plates on her little dining table. She was reapplying her lipstick when she heard the knock at the door.

"Rosie!"

She heard her father's voice before she fully saw him. He wrapped her a tight hug, squeezing her much more than was comfortable. She gasped for air.

"Dad!" she said breathlessly, laughing. "Can't breathe."

"Ron, let her go," her mother said from behind him, and he released her. She only let Rose catch her breath for a moment before bringing Rose into her arms. "It's my turn."

"Hi, mum," she said, smiling into her shoulder. For all the tension between her and her mom, there was absolutely nothing like her hugs. "I missed you."

"We missed you too," her dad said, already looking around the flat. It had been a good month since she'd seen her parents, between dealing with the wedding, finding a new apartment and moving, time had gone by quite quickly.

"The place looks wonderful, Rose," her mum said, heading towards the kitchen. "And you cooked, too?"

Rose couldn't help feel irked by the surprise in her mum's voice, even though she'd never cooked for them before.

"Yeah," she said. "It's almost ready, I think. Where's Hugo?"

"He's coming," her dad called, sitting himself at the dining table. "I owled him earlier and he said practice was finishing around this time."

Rose could see her mum tasting the food and trying to subtly add salt. She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, time for serving," she decided, flicking her wand to float the food over to the table. "Hugo should be on time if he wants first dibs on the food."

Hugo arrived a few minutes later, after they'd gotten settled down and started plating. When she answered the door, much like their father, he immediately enveloped her in a hug.

"It's like you haven't seen me just last week," she joked as he picked her up and squeezed. He was much taller than Rose, and never failed to remind her of that little fact. "Thank Merlin you showered."

"It was so bloody hot at practice today," Hugo said, going to sit at the empty spot at her table. "Could I have some water, Rose?"

As Rose filled up Hugo's glass, her father asked, "Are you ready for the next game?"

"Yeah, it's next Sunday," he said, digging in his back pocket. He handed out tickets to his father and gave one to Rose as she put his water in front of him. "You're coming, right Rose?"

"Hell yes, I am!" she said excitedly, taking the ticket. She'd supported the Cannons forever, and Hugo was a good addition to the team. They actually might win a few games this season.

"Brilliant." He grinned at her and reached to the baking tray, grabbing a chicken drumstick with his bare hands. Rose tried not to laugh as her father did the same.

Apparently, the boys in her family lacked manners.

"How are you doing, Rose?" her mum asked, politely using the utensils provided to put food in her plate. "How do you like it here?"

"I really like it," she replied truthfully. "I think I should've moved out ages ago. It would've been good for me."

"Not me," Hugo said proudly, mouthful of chicken. "I'm going to room with my mates forever. We have the ultimate bachelor pad."

Rose snorted. "By bachelor pad, do you mean that you will absolutely never have a girlfriend again?"

Hugo nodded. "That's how I roll."

Neither of her parents said anything, which always bothered Rose. Hugo could be homeless and crashing on friends' couches and eating pizza for every meal and her parents would never bat an eye.

The two siblings continued bickering until their father started telling them about his latest case in the Auror department - he never took that confidentiality agreement very seriously - and was fully into a long, winding tale until their mum put an end to it, confessing he'd made up the entire thing. Hugo's face seemed permanently transfixed on a scowl.

But Rose poured everyone some white wine at this point, starting to feel relaxed; everyone was finishing their food without complaints, her family liked the new flat and no major arguments had been started. Especially between her and her mum. Everything was going to be fine.

"Oh, guess what?" Hugo piped up, suddenly grinning wickedly. "I saw Scorpius Malfoy's name on one of the mailboxes in the lobby! Did you know he lives here?"

Maybe she'd thought too soon.

"Oh, really?" Rose said, trying to sound surprised, but she knew she was a rotten liar. Luckily, no one seemed to pick up on it.

"A Malfoy in a Muggle building?" her father muttered, exchanging glances with her mum.

"Maybe he's quite different from his father," she suggested.

Her dad snorted. "He looks exactly like him."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Why wouldn't a Malfoy live in a Muggle building?" Rose asked, feigning innocence. The way her parents were acting made her exceedingly interested about what happened between her family and Malfoys.

Her dad hesitated. "They were against Muggle-borns in the war."

"They actually did help us in the end," Rose's mother put in hastily. "The Malfoys are followers. They do what's convenient in the moment."

" _Spineless_ followers," her dad mumbled, downing the rest of his glass.

Rose quickly changed the subject after that. They spent the rest of the evening catching up, discussing Albus and Charlotte's wedding and Hugo's Quidditch season. Thankfully, no one had brought up her job – maybe Al hadn't told anyone? – and she was able to breathe in peace.

It wasn't until her dad and Hugo started a chess game and Rose decided to clean the dishes that her mother all but cornered her in the kitchen.

"The food was very good," she told Rose as the dishes fell into the sink by wand. "I didn't know you learned how to cook."

"I'm learning," Rose admitted.

"Rose," she said in a voice that made her heart sink, "I heard about the layoffs in your department."

Rose sighed. Of course she would know about it; her mum was the Deputy Head of the Magical Law Enforcement department at the Ministry, and probably sat in on the meeting where all the other department heads discussed the budget cuts.

"So you're getting laid off, then?" she confirmed, and Rose nodded dejectedly. "Have you started your job search?"

"Yes," she said, staring at a dinner plate determinedly as the sponge magically went at them. She switched the plate and started rinsing.

"There isn't a lot right now," her mum continued, leaning against the counter to peer at Rose. "I think the Ministry is planning on opening more positions in September in the Muggle Liaison Office. I can put in a good word for you."

Rose's stomach was twisting. Of course, her mum meant well, but she'd never understood Rose's need to want to make her own way. She protested when Rose moved out immediately after graduating from Hogwarts and she hated that Rose refused all recommendations or connections from her parents.

Perhaps Rose was just being stubborn, but she didn't want to get by on her parents' coattails her entire life. She already worked so hard in school to keep up with her mother's reputation – ' _the best and brightest witch in her year'_ – and when she graduated, she didn't want to be her mother's copy, moving through Ministry positions and promotions.

"What about something outside the Ministry?" Rose suggested, wincing at the hesitance in her own voice.

"Like what?"

"I dunno," she said, still not looking at her mum. She already wished she hadn't said anything. "I haven't figured it out. But maybe something I would enjoy a bit more."

"You should think about something stable," her mum replied tensely. "You've been doing administrative work all these years; you would easily qualify for another department. Then you could finally move towards something worthwhile."

There it was. Her mother's favourite word: _'worthwhile_ '.

It made her skin crawl.

"I've been working a steady job for six years," Rose reminded her.

"I know. You've been doing well."

Rose sighed. "Hugo doesn't work in the Ministry."

"Hugo…" Her mother struggled to find the words. "Hugo is very talented in Quidditch. And he never had your grades, Rosie."

"Just because I have the N.E.W.T.s, I have to work in the Ministry?" she asked, trying to keep her temper in check.

"I suppose not," her mum said, looking away. "But you need to have a plan. If you don't want to move back home, anyway."

Ouch. Her mum always stung where it hurt.

Rose took a deep breath. She wanted to move forward from this back-and-forth she'd always had with her mother. It seemed that no matter what she did, her mum was always expecting more. Even if she had nearly perfect O.W.L.s – just one A, the rest O's – her mum had been quick to point out that she could have easily brought the A up to an E. Even though it had been in Arithmancy – who even cared?

Thankfully, her mum left the kitchen to join her dad and brother and watch their chess game and Rose joined them after she calmed down. After a few more games in which Rose beat Hugo, and then her dad beat Rose, it was late and time to leave. All-in-all, the evening had gone well, though she noticed her mum was tight-lipped as she hugged her goodbye.

Rose was sure that now that her mum knew about her job situation, she was done for. Her mother would go in full-on panic mode, sending her applications and lecturing her endlessly. But since no one was hiring, her mum couldn't do anything. Not yet.

This was the golden period, when she could make her life how _she_ wanted it.

And Merlin help her if they ever found out about her and Scorpius.

* * *

A/N: Hey there! If anyone was wondering why Scorpius lives in a Muggle building, or what Rose's immediate family is like, hopefully this started to answer some of those questions! I hope you liked this chapter and let me know what you think! :)

Next: A little time with Charlotte and Emma, and Rose burns her dinner.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Monday morning came for Rose at full force. As her alarm clock went off at seven that morning, she blearily stared at the ceiling in dull humour, realizing she'd barely slept that night, she still had to go to her boring job she was getting fired from, her legs were throbbing and sore from running and she'd humiliated herself by asking her neighbour to be her fuck buddy.

Yes, this was her life.

Despite it, she slammed a hand down on her clock, got up and got ready; she still had two weeks before her last day of work. She was on time, which was at least one thing she was improving at. Rose even left another little bowl of milk for the neighbour's cat, just in case. When she saw Scorpius in line at the coffee shop an hour later, she didn't feel like death as much as she had earlier, but it wasn't much better.

To her surprise, Scorpius just smiled and gestured for her to join him in the middle of the line. She probably should have known he wouldn't have been awkward about the night before. Maybe he wouldn't acknowledge it at all. It was both relieving and disappointing; she really did like kissing him, if she was being honest.

"I'm sure I just pissed someone off for cutting the line," she mumbled to him as she stepped beside him, avoiding his eyes.

He shrugged. "You look like you need the coffee."

"Is that your way of telling me that my concealer isn't working?" she said, pretending to be offended.

"If you're going for the raccoon look, you've succeeded."

"You flatter me," she replied grumpily, turning to the menu. Scorpius chuckled.

"That bad, huh?" he asked, clearly referring to her family dinner last night.

She sighed. "The food was good."

"Gotcha."

And that was all he said about the matter.

When Rose reached the office twenty minutes later, she found a violet-coloured paper airplane waiting for her on her desk. It was from someone who worked in the Ministry, and even considering just how much family worked in the building, she was betting it was from Albus. She shrugged her robe on before opening it, squinting through his untidy handwriting.

' _Charlotte and Ella are meeting at The Leaky Cauldron at 5 and wondering if you can join._ '

She couldn't help feel disappointed. Even though she'd just seen Albus over the weekend, she hadn't had any time with him without everyone else. She wished she could talk to him about her mum and ask him how he was handling the wedding, just like they always had.

' _I'll be there,_ ' she scribbled on the back of the note. ' _Up for lunch later_?'

She folded it and took out her wand to send it back to him. Ten minutes later, the paper airplane flew back to her. She unfolded it.

' _Have to work through lunch – maybe tomorrow? Everything okay?'_

She flipped it over to write back. _'Everything's fine, I just miss you.'_

She paused, wondering if she should tell Albus about Scorpius. Throughout the years, he's proved to have the best advice with boyfriends and predicted the end of every single relationship. Which was actually a bit annoying, if she was honest.

' _How are you doing?'_ she wrote instead, and sent off the note.

The note came back – ' _Great. I miss you too._ ' – clipped to a folded piece of parchment. When she opened it, she realized he had sent her the application for the position in the Auror office. She'd just held back a groan as her boss came up to her desk.

"Good morning, Rose," she greeted with a smile. "What's that?"

"Good morning," she said, folding up the application. "Nothing, just a job application."

"Well, let me know if I can help. Could I have my messages?" Susan asked, and Rose began rifling through the basket for the right ones.

"Weasley," a gruff voice came from beside them, and Rose looked up to see Reginald Powers – the man who had failed to set up her Floo network. "Do you have time now to get your Floo done?"

She looked at him wearily. "I'm clearly working."

"Actually, I needed to talk to you about that," Susan said, joining the conversation. "Rose, you have two sick days you need to take before your last day."

"Oh," she said, looking between Susan and Reginald. "Well, I guess I could go get my Floo done today."

"Just give me the messages and you're free to leave," Susan replied, and next thing Rose knew, she was walking with Reginald back to her flat.

As he worked on her Floo, she went back to the lobby to check her mailbox. She wasn't used to this Muggle system and much preferred owls, but apparently her landlord mailed her bills and other important documents this way. After grabbing a few of the envelopes and getting back up the stairs – killer with sore legs, by the way – she noticed a little charcoal furball curled up outside her door.

When Rose got closer, the neighbour's cat did not unfurl itself. She looked at number thirty-three's door with a frown. Even if he was related to the building owner, he really didn't have grounds to be such a horrible neighbour, let alone a horrible owner for this cat.

She went inside her apartment and tossed the envelopes and her coffee cup on the counter before filling another little bowl of milk. She made a note to grab a bit of cat food from the market the next time she went, but for now, this would have to do.

Rose set the bowl down gently next to the cat. As he heard the sound of the bowl clinking with the ground, an ear popped out – then an eye. She smiled to herself as he lapped up the milk. She thought of petting him, but she didn't want to risk scaring him. Besides, her heart was melting anyway.

"Weasley?" She heard his gruff voice calling her back inside. She found Reginald wiping his soot-covered hands with an equally dirty handkerchief, still staring into the fireplace.

"Should be fine," he said, nodding to himself. "Make sure your Floo power isn't too old, don't cough as you state your location, don't forget to close the –"

"I know the rules, Reggie," she said, laughing. "I've worked in the department for six years."

"It's Reginald," he mumbled, tucking his handkerchief back in his pants pocket and strolling past her. "Right, I'm off."

"Bye," she said needlessly as he shut the door behind him.

As the quiet settled around her, she realized she had the day off on a Monday. She wasn't sick or travelling, and all of her friends were at work. What was she supposed to _do_ all day, if she wasn't working?

Her stomach twisted when she realized – _this was unemployment_.

Shit, she really needed to find another job.

* * *

Rose ended up spending the day scouring Monday's edition of _The Daily Prophet_ for new open positions and filling out the application that Albus had given her. Because she had to owl the bookshop in Hogsmeade for the application, she had to do this in Diagon Alley – she couldn't have owls swooping into her Muggle building too often.

Damn those Muggles and their inefficient mailing system.

To Rose's dismay, there were hardly any new positions since the weekend. She opted to sit in the Leaky Cauldron, nursing an ice-cold beer and turkey sandwich for several hours while writing up cover letters to the different departments in the Ministry.

She wrote one to the Department of Magical Games and Sports, though everyone always said that they hardly ever hired. The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophe was a better bet, and she wasn't so bad at charms and transfiguration. She also wrote to the Department of International Cooperation, though if she were honest, travelling full-time sounded like a headache.

But travel in general? Rose hadn't gotten enough.

The summer before their Seventh Year, Rose and Roxanne had backpacked through Italy. The only reason they'd been allowed to go were because they had top grades and they were seventeen, so they were able to use their wands in case of any danger. Plus, there was a decent amount of begging involved.

But it had been well worth it; they'd taken pictures of some of the most beautiful places, visited some of the oldest monuments in the world and eaten their weight in pasta and pizza. It was definitely Rose's favourite trip by far.

What she wouldn't give for some of _that_ excitement again.

By the time Charlotte and Ella arrived, Rose's hands were stained with ink and she was itching for a break. She'd just put down her quill when they pulled up a couple of chairs beside her and slammed a rather large pile of magazines on the table.

"What are those?" Rose asked as they sat down.

"Travel magazines," Charlotte replied, stealing her glass sipping a bit of Rose's beer.

Speak of the devil.

"We're trying to book the honeymoon location today," Ella explained as Charlotte called the waiter over. "Al said he was fine with whatever we chose as long as he didn't have to think about it."

Rose laughed. "He just wants to go to the beach. He doesn't care which one."

"But I do!" Charlotte said, handing a few magazines to Ella before opening one at the top of her pile. "I'm leaning towards somewhere in the South of France, but the Netherlands is also beautiful this time of year."

They got settled in, calling the bartender for drinks and beginning to flip through magazines. Eventually, Ella's eyes fell onto the array of parchment in front of Rose. "What are you doing?"

"Job applications," she said gloomily, gathering her papers in a pile and stashing her things back in her bag. "I got laid off, did Albus tell you?"

"Yeah, that sucks," Charlotte said sympathetically. Ella nodded in agreement.

"So that's my life now," Rose said, making them laugh. "If you two know of any openings, you'll let me know, right?"

"Of course," they replied together.

"But there's not much in my field," Charlotte added apologetically. She freelanced painting and enchanting portraits for various witches and wizards. She may have even done some for Muggles – Rose didn't know. It was an interesting idea, creating your job rather than getting hired.

Not that Rose had any special talents to name.

"Can you edit?" Ella asked. She wrote columns for _Spellbound_ , a rather popular magazine. "I think we might be hiring an assistant editor."

Just like Albus' office. "Send it over," Rose said gratefully, grabbing a travel magazine from the top of the pile.

They spent the next little while poring over magazines and travel guides, discussing different places for the honeymoon: the beach resorts in Southern France, Santorini and Valencia, but also Amsterdam for a different kind of trip. Rose began to feel pangs for her trip to Italy when she flipped through a tour guide for Italy.

"Venice was amazing," Rose said wistfully, transfixed by the photos she remembered experiencing. "Charlotte, have you been there yet?"

"Not yet," she replied, still looking at a magazine that featured the whitewashed buildings of Santorini. "But I want it on my list. I want to photograph that place one day."

Ella turned her magazine over, showing them a picture of beautiful green waters and a smoking volcano in the background "What about Hawaii?"

"Oooh," Charlotte said, looking closely at the photo. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw the door to the pub open and a group of men walked in. To her surprise, she saw Scorpius among them, following the others to a booth across the room. He gave her a surprised glance, raised eyebrows – a little smile? – but didn't stop to say hello.

It was just as well; Charlotte and Ella would have a lot of questions that Rose didn't want to deal with.

Her gaze shifted back to the Italy guidebook in her hands as Charlotte sat back, scratching her chin. "Albus would love Hawaii."

"He would," Rose said from behind her magazine.

"But he would also love exploring the island," Charlotte continued, gesturing to the Santorini guide on the table. "Plus, he loves Greek food."

"But you hate olives," Ella put in, and Charlotte nodded seriously.

Rose took the Hawaii magazine from Ella and flipped through it, stopping at a large photo of a couple on one of the beaches. They were placed on the shore, wide smiles showing off perfectly white teeth as the bikini-clad woman led a man down the beach. All-in-all, a typical beach photo. Rose was drawn to the shirtless man – the usual perfect muscles and tanned skin – and realized he had tattoos down his arms. She peered at them, but couldn't make out the shapes from the photo.

She peeked across the room at Scorpius, who was chatting with his friends and drinking a pint of beer. She was still so curious at what his tattoo could be. He was so quiet and reserved, but there was obviously a confident, snarky side to him that she was getting to know. Not to mention a very intense, passionate side that made her ache between her legs. But either way, he didn't seem the type to have a tattoo. If there was a type.

Rose exhaled decidedly, looking back at the magazine. "I want a tattoo."

A small moment of surprise passed between them.

"Can I design it?" Charlotte asked excitedly. "What do you want?"

"Sure. And I dunno," Rose replied, leaning back and tossing the magazine on the table. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Something symbolic," Ella said, following suit with her magazine. "I think if I got a tattoo, it would be a word or a phrase. Something meaningful."

"That's an idea," Rose said slowly, looking in between Ella and Charlotte. "Do either of you have tattoos?"

They shook their heads.

"What's meaningful to you?" Ella asked, taking a sip from her drink.

Rose thought for a moment. "Gryffindor, maybe?"

"You could get a rose," Charlotte suggested jokingly, and they all laughed.

"Let's not make it too obvious," Ella said, giggling.

"It'll come to me," she decided, drumming her fingers on the table. "I mean, I think I'd like it to be significant to me. Maybe I have to wait until something clicks."

"It's not like deciding your outfit for the day," Charlotte agreed.

"Oh, speaking of!" Ella said, straightening up. "What are you wearing for the bonfire party?"

"Bathing suits…?" Rose questioned uncertainly.

As Ella and Charlotte then launched into a discussion about the different types of pieces of swimming material they might wear, Rose sat back wearily. It wasn't that she particularly minded, but long gone were the days when she was sixteen, wearing bikinis and okay with showing off any part of her stomach. Now, she owned approximately two suits, both of them high-waisted.

"What do you think?" Charlotte asked, bringing Rose out of her thoughts. "Cover-up or no?"

"A light one," she said, thinking back to the party the year before. It started off nicely, but despite the giant bonfire on the beach, it had gotten a little cold by the end of the night.

"You're coming to the party, aren't you?" Ella asked, brushing her blonde hair out of her face. "I was thinking you'd like to meet my colleague. He was in our year, in Ravenclaw. He likes to read a lot, just like you."

Rose's stomach squirmed at the thought. "I don't think I'd want to have a date for the party. Literally every single one of my exes will be there."

"Aren't two of them married?" Charlotte pointed out, amused.

"Not the point."

"It's not a date," Ella said, shaking her head. "I thought you'd want to meet him. He's nice."

Rose shrugged, giving Ella a smile. "Thanks for the thought, but I don't really want to date right now. I'm trying to be independent, you know? Find myself? Be a career woman?"

"That sounds like something out of a bad romance novel," Charlotte muttered under her breath, and Rose stuck her tongue out at her.

"Which career?" Ella asked innocently.

"I'm working on that, okay?" Rose protested, and they laughed.

"Well, I'll introduce you anyway, and you can tell me if you need me to drag him away from you," Ella resolved, and Rose agreed with a shrug of her shoulders.

There was a pause as their eyes collectively fell back onto the travel magazines.

"I'm done," Charlotte said, piling up her magazines again. "I think I'll go with Southern France or Santorini, depending on what Albus says."

"Good choice," Rose approved.

"I'm starving," Ella said, looking around to call the waiter over. "Are you up for some food?"

Even though Rose's butt was sore from sitting in the same all afternoon, she got something as well. They chatted all through dinner. Apparently Charlotte's mum had calmed considerably over the weekend and didn't mind that the bridesmaids dresses were a paler pink, which made Rose breathe a sigh of relief. Ella and her boyfriend were thinking of taking a weekend trip sometime this summer, and they debated a few places close by.

Rose found herself looking over at Scorpius a couple of times – she was curious. She couldn't help it. He was sitting with some Slytherins she recognized from their year, but had never spoken to: Miles Zabini, Isaac Rosier and Victor Goyle.

She generally avoided the pure-blood crowd during school; there were a lot of whispers about them, how they only became friends with other pure-bloods, how their families might still practice the Dark Arts, but she thought it was utter bullshit. They were a grouchy lot and there were rumours about their preference for blood purity, but there was never any evidence of it.

She wondered if they knew Scorpius lived in a Muggle building.

"Earth to Rose!" Charlotte said, poking her in the arm. Rose started, realizing she'd been staring at Scorpius and his friends – thank goodness they hadn't noticed. "You are out of it today, aren't you?"

Rose laughed, feeling the heat in her cheeks. "Sorry. What's up?"

"When are we going to see your new flat?" she asked enthusiastically. "Albus said it was really nice. Will you have a housewarming party?"

"Hmm." Despite Charlotte and Ella's eager expressions, Rose shook her head. "Might be a little risky in a Muggle building. Maybe just you guys, Roxanne and Skye?"

"We could sleepover," Ella suggested. "We haven't done that in ages."

Rose smiled. "That would be amazing. Where is Skye, anyway?"

"Quidditch practice," Charlotte answered, putting some change on the table before shoving the pile of magazines back into her bag. Skye was a Beater on the Holyhead Harpies. "I'm so excited to see your flat, Rose. Let us know when, yeah?"

"Just not this weekend," Ella reminded her. "We have the dinner to finalize the menu, remember?"

"And the wedding photoshoot," Charlotte said.

Rose snorted. "How about next weekend? I'm definitely free then." Next weekend would be the first without a job in years. Not that she worked weekends, anyway.

"I can't wait," Charlotte said, going around the table to give Rose a hug. "I'll see you on Thursday. I have to get home."

Charlotte left after hugging Ella. She started to pack up her things, checking her watch. "I think I should get going, too. Felix is probably wondering where I am."

Rose held onto Ella's arm before she could follow Charlotte. "Hey, could ask you something for a second?"

"Sure."

She lowered her voice. "Do you remember that time a few years ago when you lost some weight through running?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you give me some tips?" she asked, feeling herself turning red.

"Oh sure!" Ella chirped, leaning forward. "I mean, the difficulty is in the beginning. You feel sore all the time."

Rose winced. "I reckon I'm at that place now."

"Oh, so you've just started." Ella nodded thoughtfully. "That's good. You have to just keep going, that's the hard part. It's good to have a goal."

"Like… running five kilometres?"

"Within a specific time? Sure."

Rose thought she would be lucky to run five kilometres at all. But she would take what she could get.

"Okay, set a goal," Rose said, ticking off a finger. "What else?"

"Most of the change happens from eating habits," Ella stressed, "not from the running. So you have to eat healthy and cook a lot more so you know what's in it."

Rose eyed her nearly finished dinner – chicken pot pie – and pushed it away. She was not the best advocate for healthy food. What even was healthy food, anyway? "Great. I'm an awful cook."

"It's not too late to learn."

"Yeah, I suppose. I did buy a cookbook the other day. That's half the battle of cooking." Rose thought for a moment. "The other half is buying the food."

Ella laughed.

"Thanks, El," Rose said, feeling much better about the whole ordeal already. "That was actually extremely helpful."

"No problem. But Rose…" Ella smiled kindly at her. "Honestly, you don't need to do much other than get into shape. I was much more overweight than you."

Rose looked down at her belly, not wholly protruding, but rounder than she'd ever been. It wasn't like she didn't see the models with flat stomachs in magazines and posters. "I guess. It's just my middle part I have an issue with."

"Don't we all," she said understandingly, nodding.

"I'll be showing off my stomach rolls on Thursday, then," Rose joked as they got up, grabbing their things. As they left payment on the table, she said, "This whole cooking thing will probably help me save money, too."

Ella slung an arm around Rose's shoulders. "At this point, you will become a walking-talking self-help book."

That thought alone was horrifying enough for Rose to reconsider the whole reinventing herself idea.

But not really.

* * *

It was a couple of nights later when Rose was attempting to cook dinner again. She was listening to the Wizarding Food Network on her Wireless and poring over her cookbook in the kitchen. She'd found a section on healthy recipes and was attempting to make salmon – that was healthy, right?

That, combined with the terrible fish smell from her neighbour, was enough to make her sweat.

Plus, it was bloody hot out. The building's central cooling system just couldn't take the current heatwave ploughing through London, and the heat from the stove was not helping matters. Rose had already cast a couple of cooling charms, but they'd worn off very quickly.

She'd marinated her salmon, similarly to how Scorpius had shown her with the chicken that weekend, and heated up a frying pan. When she put in some oil, it moved around the pan smoothly, just like the book said. But when she put in the salmon, the oil fizzed around and splashed, stinging Rose's wrist. She yelped in pain.

Oh dear Merlin, this was not off to a good start.

She immediately ran to the sink and ran her arm under cold water. A minute later, when her wrist felt better, she went back to the stove and flipped the salmon over – very carefully – and realized it had completely burned. _Shit._

She turned off the stove just as she heard knocking at her door. She wiped her hands and turned off the Wireless before going over to the entrance, reaching on her toes and closing one eye to peek through the peephole.

Scorpius.

She opened the door. He was still in his work clothes – full trousers and lab coat, _in this heat_ – and holding an envelope in his hand.

"Hey," he greeted, holding it up. "This is yours. It got in my mailbox for some reason." Rose plucked the envelope from his hand and read the top.

Another bill. Lovely.

"Thanks," she grumbled. "Just what I needed."

"What's that smell?" he asked, his nose wrinkling. "Is something burning?"

"Yeah." She waved an arm helplessly towards the kitchen. "I burned my salmon about three seconds ago. And my arm."

"That's why it smells like death in the hallway," he muttered. Rose held back a grin as she noticed his eyes dipping down to her tanned legs; after work, she'd changed into her comfiest sleep shorts and they were rather short. But it was a part of her body she didn't mind at all showing off.

She enjoyed Scorpius' minor discomfort before he cleared his throat, avoiding her eyes. "Do you need some help?"

"Nah," she said, shrugging. "I think I'll try again. I have a couple more cutlets left."

Despite her refusal, he followed her inside anyway to see the burned salmon in the smoking frying pan. Even though she'd turned off the stove, it had shrivelled up and singed even more in the pan. She sighed and vanished it with her wand.

"Your pan's too hot," Scorpius said, taking off his lab coat and putting it neatly on the dining chair. He came into the kitchen and turned the heat dial to the middle. "You want to cook things on lower heat."

Rose pointed to the cookbook. "It said to heat up the pan."

"Yeah, but turn it down when it's hot enough," he instructed. She watched as he folded up his sleeves and then held his hand over the pan. "Come here."

She held her hand next to his, feeling the heat radiating from the pan. "See how it's hot enough now?" he asked, turning and handing her the bowl of marinated salmon. "You can put it in now. But keep the heat low."

This time when she put in her oil and salmon in, the oil fizzled and didn't jump out at her. But she flinched anyway.

"What?" he asked, confused by her reaction.

"The oil attacked me last time," she protested, rubbing a hand over her wrist. Scorpius laughed.

"I'm telling you, your pan was too hot," he said, adding the second cutlet in with ease.

"Okay, okay," she said, grabbing the spatula. "Can I flip it over now?"

"Wait at least a minute," he said, leaning back on the opposite counter, crossing his arms against his chest. "If you can wait, that is."

She playfully poked his leg with her toe. "I'm patient, okay? I'm just not good at this whole cooking thing."

"Right."

"And I'm hungry."

He laughed again. "Me too."

"I'm happy to share," she told him. "Do you want some rice with this?"

"I'll make it," he offered, and she nodded.

It was nice cooking with Scorpius again. She noticed once more that she liked watching him work. He was careful and methodical, his movements confident and relaxed in direct contrast to hers, jittery and unsure.

She didn't understand what it was about him; she liked talking to him and being around him, but she didn't feel any butterflies. But at the same time, every time his fingers brushed with hers as she handed him something or when his shoulder bumped against hers, there was an excitement that had nothing to do with the bloody heatwave.

"So, you're really learning how to cook, then?" Scorpius asked as he stirred the rice, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah," she said, realizing that he was right. She was actually doing it, wasn't she?

Then she became slightly miffed by the question – he'd definitely doubted her.

"It's one of my goals," she added. "Running, getting back into reading, cooking. So I'm doing it."

He hesitated before asking, "Do you want me to teach you?"

"Really?" she blurted out, surprised. Merlin, she really was terrible at reading Scorpius. She thought she'd embarrassed herself enough a few days ago, and obviously he wasn't there to snog the pants off of her, like she wanted

"Yeah, sure," he said, shrugging. "I hate leftovers."

"Cooking for one person isn't great," Rose agreed, nodding. "It's probably why I never really learned."

"Makes sense."

"That, and I lived with Albus, who loves takeaway."

Scorpius groaned. "Takeaway is nasty. It's always cold and the oil settles weirdly. I'd much rather sit at a restaurant."

"I don't mind it," Rose said, "but beggars can't be choosers."

"I suppose." He put the lid back on the rice pot.

"You love food, don't you?" she asked, testing the waters. "Cooking seems like something you enjoy a lot."

"I do love food," he acknowledged shortly, eyes flitting down to her wrist. She realized she'd been rubbing it unconsciously, where the hot oil had splashed it. "Can I see?"

Without waiting for an answer, he gently took her hand and flipped it over. There was a tiny red mark on the inside, a kind of wonky circle. Rose hoped Scorpius wouldn't notice how she was blushing.

"Congratulations," he said, surprising her.

"Excuse me?"

"Your first cooking burn," he said, dropping her hand and grinning at her. "Don't worry. It's barely anything, it won't even scar."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically, eyeing his arms. "Do you have some, then?"

"Yeah." He flipped his arms over and she could see a few tiny spots and scars, faded beige and barely noticeable. He pointed to a slightly longer scar on his left wrist. "Bacon grease burn was the worst."

She winced. "Ouch."

They finished cooking the salmon and rice and opted to eat on the couch again, Rose insisting on showing him another movie. This time she showed him something Albus would love, with plenty of action and thrilling scenes, but she found Scorpius nodding off halfway through the film, still holding his empty plate. She paused the film before poking him.

"Hey," she said as he inhaled sharply and blinked his eyes open. "You didn't like it?"

It took him a second before he replied. "Uh, the film?"

"Yes."

"It was okay," he said, putting his plate down on the coffee table before taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, it's just been a long week. I'm going to take Friday off."

"Are you okay?" she asked, but she didn't expect a real answer. He just nodded, putting his glasses back on.

"Are you going to the bonfire party tomorrow?" she asked. That was why she'd just told her boss earlier that she was taking her second sick day on Friday.

"Are you?" he said instead.

"Yeah." She snorted. "I think my friends are more excited than me, though. I'm not always thrilled to see our old classmates."

"Ah." He took a deep breath in and out, closing his eyes as he did so. "Yeah, I'm knackered. I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Okay."

"Thanks for dinner," he said, gathering his lab coat and bag from the chair he'd left them on.

"Thank _you_ ," she countered, smiling at him as she stood up and grabbed their dirty plates. "I think you saved dinner, if I'm being honest."

As she headed towards the kitchen, he stepped in front of her, blocking her way. "Rose, I…"

She waited, but he didn't say anything. She could see his eyes flashing down to her lips again, unsure. There was a part of her that felt justified from the unmistakable fact that he wanted to kiss her, but another that wondered what exactly was holding him back.

One thing was for sure: she wasn't going to make the first move this time.

To her disappointment, he shook his head and gave her a sleepy smile. "Night, Rose."

"Good night, Scorpius," she said softly, watching him leave. After he'd closed the door behind him, she realized that he'd never answered her question whether he was going to the party or not. She supposed it didn't matter – judging by their social circles, it wasn't as though they would be interacting much, anyway.

When Rose went to bed that night, she was sufficiently frustrated enough to admit that she needed _something_. It had been ages since she'd been with someone, and combined with whatever had been happening with Scorpius, she was practically longing to feel a body against hers.

It wasn't until she was falling asleep that it hit her.

Why Scorpius clearly wanted to kiss her, but also why he was holding back. Why he never made anything of it, despite her blatant awkwardness. Why he kept coming around. Why he wanted to teach her how to cook. Why he watched a movie with her, even if he was having a bad week and needed sleep more than anything.

He was lonely.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Any ideas what Rose's tattoo should be, or what in the world is going on with Scorpius? :)

Next: the bonfire party!


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: Mature warning for this chapter.

**Chapter Seven**

Upon meeting Cole Goldstein, Ella's co-worker, Rose remembered why she stopped dating Ravenclaws.

Rose's first boyfriend was Ethan Corner. He was quite sweet to her: always carried her books to their shared classes, held her hand in Hogsmeade and kissed her at the end of their dates. Perhaps it was just how young they were – they dated all throughout fifth and sixth year – that Rose couldn't see what was in front of her. It was so comfortable that it was boring, and the only reason she didn't break it off was because she didn't realize what a relationship was supposed to be like. Plus, he was a great study partner.

Rose dated Travis Davies for over three years before calling it off. It was well after Hogwarts and felt like her first adult relationship. Travis was smart, and he knew it; she didn't know whether it was his competitive nature or insecurity, but he had to one-up Rose every chance he had. It was one reason why she hadn't applied for promotions; she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Travis wouldn't have liked it if she made more money than him.

Despite that, they still loved each other quite a lot. Rose and Travis had a lot in common, they liked to do the same things and he even was a fan of the Chudley Cannons. But in the end, she couldn't take his ego being based on his intelligence and the way he would start an argument around it every chance he got. Even in front of her family.

Cole Goldstein was nice, as Ella mentioned, but clearly based his entire personality on his intelligence, just like Travis. Rose wasn't sure she could take it.

"… and I realized that it was the fact that Mandrakes are allergic to it! So of course, it didn't belong in the potion, right? How would the properties of the Mandrake occur? The author clearly didn't pick up on that himself."

"Uh huh," Rose nodded along, but she had no idea what he was talking about. She was looking around at the party; there were people everywhere, sitting on logs in front of the bonfire, swimming around the ocean waters, a group of people tossing a Quaffle around and someone's House Elf at a grill, where the scent of hot dogs and hamburgers wafted over. Magical speakers thumped loud dance music across the beach. There were many more Hogwarts graduates than expected – she suspected word had gotten out, and the party just grew bigger and bigger.

Just then, she saw Roxanne and Noah setting up beach towels near the shore.

"So nice to meet you," Rose said quickly, cutting off Cole in the middle of his sentence. "I just saw my friend. I'll see you around!"

"But –"

Without waiting for an answer, she quickly ran into the crowd and lost him.

She saw Ella and Skye heading over towards Roxanne as well, and she gave them a pointed scowl. Ella was laughing at her as she approached the group.

"You looked like you were going to fall asleep," Ella teased.

"You are the absolute worst," Rose told her, not really meaning it. "You could have warned me he was the most self-centred person in Ravenclaw."

"That would be an insult to the rest of them," Skye said, snickering. "Seriously, El? Cole Goldstein?"

"He's not that bad in the office!" Ella protested, but she was laughing too. "But I guess that's because I say three words to him before going to my desk. He's a book reviewer, and you like books, so…"

"Rose likes books, not people who read books," Roxanne piped up from her towel. "Are three going to sit down?"

They set up their towels around, massaging in some sun-protection potions. Felix and Everett joined with their drinks, then Albus and Charlotte arrived to see Ella in an arm-wrestling match with Noah.

"What's going on?" Al asked, plopping his towel down to Rose's and sitting beside her.

"Ella was bragging about how she beat Felix in an arm-wrestling match," Rose told him, referring to Ella's boyfriend. "So then Noah decided to see for himself –"

"HA!" Ella cried out happily, slamming down Noah's hand into the towel.

"How in Merlin's beard…" he stammered, red-faced.

"I work out," Ella said cheerfully as her friends roared with laughter around them. Ella was so tiny and cute; it was hard to imagine her having so much strength.

"My little powerhouse," Felix said proudly, pulling Ella into his arms and kissing the side of her head. Rose thought it was beyond adorable.

"So," Rose said after the moment had passed, "guess what I brought?" Eight heads turned towards her as she dug through her bag and brandished a large pack of marshmallows and another large pack of wooden skewers. Whooping and whistles immediately sounded around her.

"Rose brought the goods!" Albus cheered, grabbing them from her and ruffling her hair. They all stood up and bounded towards the bonfire, but Rose felt a hand pulling her back. It was Roxanne.

She linked her arm with Rose's as they walked slowly behind the group. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Rose said, putting her head on Roxanne's shoulder as they walked. "I can't believe you're going to be away all the time."

"I know." Roxanne sounded a little dejected. Even when Roxanne was a Curse Breaker, it was usually easy for her to Apparate over to wherever Rose was; she was quite good at Apparating, unlike Rose. With Apparition blocked on Hogwarts grounds, it would be much more difficult to see each other, even with Floo… being a teacher was extremely busy.

"Can I ask you something?" Roxanne asked, and Rose nodded. "Is Noah acting weird?"

Rose lifted her head and looked forward; Noah was ahead, conversing with Albus and Charlotte as they passed around skewers and marshmallows. "Not to me."

"He's been acting really odd lately," she said in a quiet voice that was very unlike her. "I'm worried he wants to break up."

"That bad?" Rose asked, astonished. Roxanne and Noah had been together so long, she couldn't imagine them apart. "What did he do?"

"I can't really explain it," Roxanne said slowly, chewing at her lip. Rose lifted her head to look at Roxanne properly. "He's been talking a lot about how long we're been together. What if he's bored?"

"You're not boring," Rose said instantly, meaning it. Roxanne was always the life of the party – confident, charming and fun. She was beautiful, too, and Rose definitely caught Noah checking out Roxanne's bikini in Gryffindor colours. Rose couldn't imagine anyone getting bored with her, let alone Noah. "I think you should just talk to him."

"Maybe," she said, giving Rose an uncertain smile as they reached the fire.

Rose resolved to cheer her up. She grabbed the supplies from Albus and skewered five marshmallows on one stick. Roxanne looked at her with wide eyes.

"You're not going to – _Rose!_ " she shrieked as Rose dipped the marshmallows towards the fire.

"I need to get them all!" she said to Roxanne, laughing. Her hand was very dangerously close to the flame as she poked the stick further and further, attempting to roast them all.

"You're going to burn your hand!" Roxanne protested, grabbing Rose and pulling her backwards.

She inspected her stick. The marshmallows at the top nearly burned from her little stunt, but Roxanne was still giggling, so Rose didn't mind.

"Do you think I can get all of them at once?" she joked, holding the stick backwards towards her open mouth.

"Stop it," Roxanne said between guffaws, holding her stomach. "You look like you're about to give it a –"

A loud wolf whistle sounded behind her – Skye, of course. "Go on, Rose!" she cheered, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Ella looked like she was trying hard not to laugh, but failing, and Charlotte had a hand to her mouth to hide her laughter.

Rose just turned the stick back around to its side and took a large bite, grinning wickedly. This just made them laugh harder. Luckily, the boys were roasting marshmallows and didn't notice.

And Roxanne looked sufficiently cheered up.

The sun had set by the time they'd roasted all the marshmallows. After a bit of dancing, Rose, Ella and Charlotte took a walk on the seashore while Skye and her boyfriend, Everett, joined in the Quaffle throwing. Roxanne and Noah had snuck away at some point and Rose later saw them swimming in the ocean, kissing and laughing. She couldn't understand what Roxanne had been talking about at all.

Later on, Rose was looking for Albus and Felix – they'd left to find food at the grill – and was weaving through the crowds of people when she saw a blond head of hair that caught her eye. It seemed that Scorpius _had_ come to the party, after all.

He was sitting at a picnic table with the same group of friends she'd seen at the pub earlier that week – Zabini, Rosier and Crabbe – and some others she couldn't recognize with their backs facing her. Scorpius was sitting next to a girl, someone with long wavy blonde hair wearing a loose-fitting beach dress. Squinting, she realized it was Annika Nott.

Scorpius was nodding along to what she was saying, but it was clear to Rose that he was enraptured by her; his body was angled towards Annika in every way. Rose watched curiously as Annika hugged Scorpius, then got up from the table and disappeared into the crowd.

"Rose?"

She felt a tap at her shoulder and turned around to see her ex-boyfriend.

This was why she hated the bonfire parties.

"Travis," she said, trying to muster up a smile. Her heart leapt in her chest of its own accord; she could never tame that reaction to him. He was living embodiment of 'tall, dark and handsome' and he was standing in front of her, shirtless and sexy. Rose swallowed nervously.

"You look amazing," he said in a low voice, not-so-subtly shifting his eyes downwards to Rose's bathing suit. She'd opted for her favourite black two-piece, with a high-waisted bottom and halter top. Rose felt flattered for all of two seconds before she saw his hands reaching for her arse.

"Oi, stop it," she said, moving backwards and nearly bumping into someone.

"Sorry," he said, not looking sorry at all. In fact, he looked quite drunk. "How've you been?"

"Great," she replied, widening her fake smile. She hated herself for it, but what else was she going to say? "Really, really good. And yourself?"

"I just got promoted," he boasted proudly, back straightening significantly. "You're looking at the head Obliviator for all those nosy Muggles."

"Great," Rose repeated, making a note to herself not to apply for any positions in that department. "Congratulations."

He grinned at her. "Can I get you a drink?"

Rose wanted to say no, but she couldn't think of a way to do it politely. Besides, she hadn't gotten a drink yet, and she definitely could use one.

As they stood in line at the outdoor bar, Travis bumped his shoulder against hers. "Let's do some shots. Drink to my promotion."

"Uhh…" Rose remembered her hangover a little too clearly from last week. "I was just going to get a beer."

"That's no fun," he said, practically pouting at her. "You were up for it last year."

Rose recalled the bonfire party from the previous year – it really was like a bloody annual Hogwarts reunion – when she and Travis had still been together, and they must have had at least four shots together. She'd always drink a lot more with him… probably why she was such a lightweight now. She remembered waking up with him the next morning having no idea what happened, and neither had he.

She wasn't sure she wanted a repeat experience.

"For old time's sake?" he asked, and she realized he'd slid his hand across the small of her back, making goosebumps rise on her skin. "On me."

"Just one, then," she relented as they reached the front of the line. He flashed a smile at her before making a show of brandishing his wallet from his back pocket and dropping the galleons onto the bar. Rose winced.

Had she really found that at all attractive, even just a year ago?

Nevertheless, she found herself clinking her shot glass of Firewhiskey with his, but as he downed his back, she took a tiny sip before dumping most of the drink on the ground. Travis didn't notice; he seemed extremely pleased, keeping his hand at her waist as they walked away from the bar. "Good to know you still know how to have fun."

"Good to know your head hasn't deflated," Rose countered, trying not to laugh. His hand was slipping lower, intentions always obvious. And honestly, she was considering it.

But she was glad she was still sober, because she was also remembering that Travis was extremely selfish in bed. Even if she wanted to sleep with him, she would probably walk away from the experience just as frustrated as she started.

"Want to dance?" he asked, pulling her closer.

"Not now," she decided, wriggling out of his grasp. "I have to go talk to Roxanne about something."

"She's probably busy," he whined playfully, but let her go. She waved goodbye quickly before slipping back into the crowd and losing him.

Rose found Albus and Charlotte back at their towels, eating burgers as they relaxed and talked. She plopped down beside them and started digging through her bag for her thin blue scarf; it had started to feel cold after the sun had set.

"Hey," Al greeted, reaching around for a plate she hadn't seen. "We got an extra burger if you want it."

"Thanks," Rose said, wrapping herself in her scarf and taking the paper plate. "Travis cornered me and tried to get me to dance."

"Don't," Albus and Charlotte said together, making Rose laugh. They were around for the messy break up the year before, which made her feel both grateful and embarrassed.

"You guys are cute," she said, smiling as she dug into her food. "What have you two been up to?"

"We went swimming for a bit," Charlotte told her. "The water was great, but it's getting a little cold."

"Are Roxanne and Noah still in there?" Rose asked, peering out to the waters, but she couldn't see them in the dark.

"Probably." Charlotte swallowed the last of her burger and put her plate down, stretching her legs out on the towel. "This has been a really nice break from wedding stuff, I'm not going to lie."

"What's the latest?" Rose teased.

"My brother," Albus replied with a groan. "James wants to bring his weird girlfriend."

"She's not that bad, Al," Charlotte reasoned, but he gave her a look.

"When he brought her to Fred's wedding, she stole the bouquet and jumped into the hotel pool," he said dryly, referring to Roxanne's older brother.

Rose snorted. "Well, at least she's entertaining?"

"I'll keep the bouquet under lock and key," Charlotte assured Albus, kissing his cheek. "Besides, James is the best man. He's going to try to be on his best behaviour."

"He was the best man at Fred's wedding, too," Al pointed out grumpily, but put an arm around her.

"It really must be nice to get a break from all that," Rose said, looking out to the party again. She was starting to feel like a third wheel, as per usual. "Are we still on for that dinner on Saturday?"

"Yeah," Charlotte replied, leaning back into Al, looking tired. The dinner was to finalize the menu for the wedding, but the dinner had been rescheduled at least four times thanks to Albus' work schedule.

"It's getting late, isn't it?" he said, also looking a bit worn-out.

Rose checked her watch. "It's only eleven."

But she understood what they meant; they'd all been working since early that morning. Maybe it was just from being around couples most of the evening, but she wasn't quite ready to go home yet. Home meant being alone, in her bed, stuck with her thoughts twisting through her mind.

"You go ahead," Rose said as she finished her food and pulled her scarf tightly around her to stand up. "I'm going to walk on the beach for a while."

Rose walked along the shore for some time, sticking close to the bonfire. The sand squished under her toes as the waves rushed over her feet, and it was calming. Roxanne and Noah had disappeared, and she hoped they were talking about whatever Roxanne had been worried about.

She was looking for Ella and Skye when she heard Scorpius' voice behind her.

"Hi," he said quietly as he fell into step with her.

"Hey," she said, surprised. His friends were nowhere to be seen, and Scorpius didn't seem concerned about them or whether they could see him with her. "When did you get here?"

"A while ago." He stuffed his hands in his black swim shorts and he was wearing a plain white t-shirt – it suited him. "You looked like you were having fun."

She smiled at her toes as they walked. "Yeah, we always roast marshmallows at this thing. It's kind of a tradition."

"Actually, I didn't see that."

"Oh."

"I saw you drop your drink on the ground."

Rose laughed. "Right, with Travis." Scorpius raised his eyebrows at her, so she clarified further. "My annoying ex-boyfriend."

"Why annoying?"

She stopped, looking out at the dark waters and rolling waves reflecting the pale moonlight. "Oh, you must have seen him."

He stared at her patiently, but when she didn't elaborate, he shrugged. "Maybe all exes are annoying."

"You've got a couple of those, then?"

He chuckled and looked back at the party. She followed his gaze, almost uneasy by how quickly he found Annika Nott sitting on a log by the bonfire, like he kept one eye on her. Rose remembered how that felt with Travis years ago, before they started dating; the way she was always aware of him in the room, the way he was always in her peripheral. She was grateful she hadn't felt that in years.

"So, she's the one that got away?" Rose asked, holding her scarf closer as she held herself, hands at opposite elbows.

"Something like that," he said, looking back to Rose. "We were… _wildly_ incompatible."

"Hmm." Rose turned back to the water, stepping closer and pressing a foot down, making an imprint in the sand. Perhaps this explained a few things about him. "And you're still in love with her?"

"I haven't been in love with her for years," he said, voice genuine.

If he was telling the truth, this confused Rose even more.

Either way, she turned this new piece of information over and over in her mind. Maybe he was claiming to be over Nott, and maybe he was lying to himself. That didn't really change anything, did it? If she was honest, she really didn't care if he was in love with someone else; it made things that much easier.

"Will your friends mind that you're over here?" she asked.

"Why would they mind?"

She shrugged, still watching the water rush around her ankles and flicking her shins. She wasn't sure why she asked, or why it would matter to anyone at all. It was just an excuse.

Scorpius nudged her with the side of his arm. "You're unusually quiet."

"The horror," she sighed dramatically, and he chuckled.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep last night," he said. "I didn't sleep much this week."

"I didn't mind," she said honestly, forehead creasing in confusion as she traced her toe in the sand, watching it crumble with each wave. "You don't have to apologize."

"I suppose not."

Rose pulled her hair to the side of her face – the wind from the ocean had been blowing it around – and looked up at Scorpius, realizing how close he was. She could just make out his sharp cheekbones in the dark, flushed pink. He held her gaze intently, hands still in his pockets.

"What?" she demanded, suddenly self-conscious. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I want you," he replied gently, simply.

Fuck, she felt that down to her toes.

" _Now_?" she choked out, heat rising to her cheeks as her insides cheered, ' _Yes, now! Please!'_ It has been four days since she'd asked, and he hadn't even so much as acknowledged it.

But Scorpius' proposition was so different than Travis' – downright modest, innocent, even – and he'd barely even touched her. And yet, his words affected her in a way she hadn't felt with anyone else. Ever.

"Yes, now," he said, sounding amused. "Or would you rather me make an appointment?"

Rose laughed, despite herself.

"Do you still want to?" he asked, brushing a hand through his hair, making it stick up in the most delightful of ways. "I'm okay with whatever you want."

She turned away with an indifferent shrug. "Now I'm reconsidering the whole deal."

"We didn't make a deal."

"And that was your first mistake."

Scorpius laughed again as he took her scarf by the ends, turning her towards him. She was rather enjoying this, if she was being entirely honest; she'd been the one to kiss him first, and there was a little part of her that wanted him to suffer through uncertainty, just a little.

"You can decide," he said, pulling her closer, "but I want to take you back to my place, and the offer only stands for about thirty more seconds."

She frowned. "What do you –"

Without warning, he closed the distance in between them, hands reaching through her hair to pull her closer and catch her lips with his. A thrill went through her at the eagerness of it, making her toes curl in the sand and her fists clutch at his chest. All reasoning was lost as he pressed himself into her, hard against her lower belly, smoothly deepening the kiss when she gasped against his mouth.

When he pulled away, he was smirking at her.

"That was way longer than thirty seconds," she said, still breathless.

He tilted his head. "Well?"

"I need to get my things," she said, stepping backwards, walking away. "And then we'll see."

"I'll see you at mine," he said nonchalantly, and she turned around to hide her grin.

Rose realized how lucky she was that it was dark when she made her way back to her things and packed up her towel. Her friends were still nowhere to be seen – perhaps they'd gone home? – and she thought, just maybe, she'd gotten away with kissing Scorpius in public without any questions from them.

Rose was just lifting her bag and turning around when she bumped into Roxanne, arms crossed expectantly.

_Shit._

"So," she said, a devilish grin spreading across her features, "You were talking about Malfoy? _He's_ the one you're sleeping with?"

"Did anyone else see?" Rose said immediately, glancing around. She still couldn't see any of her other friends, and no one else seemed to think anything amiss. Scorpius had disappeared.

"Probably not," Roxanne said, shrugging. "It was dark. But I was looking for you, to make sure you were all right."

"Thank you," Rose said fretfully, starting to make her way to the beach cabin; the Floo connection was set up there. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"You need to tell me everything later!" Roxanne shouted gleefully.

Rose was definitely going to put that off as long as possible.

* * *

Seeing Roxanne was sobering.

The anticipation and anxiety had fully settled in as Rose made her to the beach cabin – was this a mistake? Did he only kiss her in case his ex was watching? What were her friends going to think? – and Flooed home. She landed on her living room floor, covered in soot, sand still clinging to her legs and feet.

Real sexy.

As she quickly showered and changed into her night clothes, the two sides of the situation were tearing at her mind. Of course she wanted to have sex with Scorpius; being around someone so attractive was consistently unsatisfying, especially when he wasn't holding back. But another, probably more sensible part was now wondering, for the first time, if the whole 'friends with benefits' thing was a good idea. It seemed like fun, but reckless.

But that was part of what made it so appealing for her.

It was nearing one in the morning by the time Rose was standing in front of Scorpius' door, hair damp, barefoot and gripping her keys. She knocked uncertainly beneath the golden '31' lettering, half hoping if he was just playing around with her, he wouldn't answer.

She needn't have worried. Scorpius was dragging her inside a moment later, mouth on hers before he'd fully shut the door.

"There you are," he mumbled, pressing her into the wall next to the door. He tasted like mint, like he'd just brushed his teeth. "I thought I scared you off."

"You don't scare me," she said, almost indignantly, and he laughed against her lips. "I had to shower."

"Me too." He gripped her thighs and lifted them around his hips. He ground against her as she folded her legs around him and his forehead fell onto hers. "Fuck, you smell so good."

"Mmm." Something was starting to unravel in her chest as she brought her lips back to his, gentle but needy, deliberate but electrifying. She leaned back, unwrapping her legs around him and landing on the ground before she turned to find the light switch. She flicked it down.

His hands found her waist in the dark, flirting under the hem of her shirt as he kissed her again. Goosebumps raised under his fingers, a lovely tingling that resulted in a small moan from Rose.

Scorpius broke off the kiss abruptly. "Bed. Now."

"Okay, okay," Rose teased, but hurried towards his bed. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and his blinds were open as she stumbled her way through his apartment. He kept at her heels, tugging at her keys and tossing them on the couch.

The next thing she knew, her back was on the mattress and his mouth was on hers again, hot and insistent. He'd wasted no time moving on top of her, shifting her in between his legs as his hands clasped at her jaw. If Rose thought their previous encounters were enthusiastic, this was positively desperate, and she was rather enjoying it.

Rose began inching his t-shirt upwards, feeling his warm, smooth skin underneath her hands. This made Scorpius groan and sit back, sliding his shirt off as Rose sat up, leaving him in just his boxers. Her eyes lingered at his broad shoulders, and although he didn't have any definition in his abdomen, she admired the way his hips turned inwards, just making it out in the dim light.

"You're not wearing a bra, are you," he asked a strangled voice, and she realized he was looking at her in the same way she'd just been looking at him.

"No," she said, trying not to grin, "didn't see the point."

He groaned again and took her hands, pulling her forward until her knees were on either side of his, settling in his lap. He reached under her shirt, brushing the sides of her breasts. "This okay?"

"Yes," she whispered, bringing her lips back to his as he continued, massaging, exploring. Her fingers ran through his soft, still-damp hair, wanting more.

Scorpius obviously shared the sentiment, practically shoving her back onto the bed as his lips moved to her neck, making her gasp into his shoulder. She could feel the smirk form on her skin, just for a moment before he continued kissing across her throat, stopping just above her collarbone to suck roughly.

Her legs seemed to move of her own accord, untangling with his until they were crossed around him. She could feel his erection as she drew him into her, making him moan into her neck.

"Stop," he said, breathless and eyes shut tight. "I'm not going to last if you do that."

"That's okay," Rose said truthfully. It had been so long that she'd nearly forgotten how good it felt to be with someone, and she didn't really care if she came or not. She just wanted to feel him. "Really."

He exhaled quietly, like the pressure was off, and brought his mouth to hers again.

Scorpius pushed her shirt upwards, breaking their kiss for only a second to push it over her head. She was glad it was so dark that he couldn't see the roundness of her belly and the way her hips jutted outward, nor did it seem like he was paying attention to it. He was more focused on taking off her shorts next.

Once they were off and she was feeling significantly more exposed, he was kissing her much more slowly, coaxing her mouth open, tongue gentle. She felt him fully press his body into hers, like he knew that she'd been longing to feel his skin on hers.

Rose explored him comfortably, running her hands along his sides, his damn forearms she was always distracted by, his shoulders that were a wonderful new discovery. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and only opened her eyes when he leaned higher, forehead against hers, and catching his breath.

She realized why he'd stopped kissing her when she felt his fingers at her hip bone, sneaking underneath the edge of the waistband of her underwear. His eyes were questioning, which was almost maddening.

" _Yes,_ " she whispered, the heat moving to her face in a rush. "Scorpius, I _swear_ –"

He cut her off, kissing her again, feeling the arching of his lips on hers as he did so.

She couldn't help the small moans that hummed in her chest as he touched her, sure the blush was blooming on her cheeks from the embarrassment. He didn't seem to mind at all; in fact, from the way he was smiling, he seemed to be enjoying it. A contrast from her past experiences, where they would hastily rub her clit for ten seconds, thinking that was enough.

She dug her fingers into his back, trying not to scratch him, but she couldn't concentrate. She was aching and wet when he stopped and started pulling her panties down.

"Rose," he said, sounding strained as he pushed his boxers down his legs, "do you take the potion or something?"

"Yeah." She liked how he was suddenly fumbling, reminding her that he really hadn't done this in a while. The haziness she was previously feeling dissipated a little as she felt him in between her legs, hesitating. She hooked her shins around him. "I want you to feel good."

"You feel amazing already," he said quietly, tossing his glasses on his nightstand before slipping his hands behind her to hold her. "Don't move, okay?"

Rose closed her eyes as he pressed inside her. It was always a paradox of a slightly uncomfortable stretching and pleasure, but she relaxed when he kissed her, lowering on his forearms to hold her jaw.

"Fuck," Scorpius said, leaning forwards until his forehead sunk into the mattress beside her. His hips started moving, slowly, and she felt him sink deeper inside her. " _Fuck,_ you feel so good."

It did. She was so sensitive and the first time having sex after months of nothing was always too intense. He was clearly trying to keep a steady pace, reaching between their bodies to touch her, but she could tell it wasn't going to happen this time. Rose met his hips with hers, but this only caused him to hold them down, sending a thrill through her.

Her lips landed on his shoulder as he lost himself, thrusting faster, breath shallow in her ear. She kissed the hollow between his shoulder and his neck, making his moan rumble from his chest to hers. Scorpius was usually so reserved; watching him like this was exhilarating.

When he finally stilled, catching his breath, he took a moment to kiss her gently. "Sorry."

"I told you it was fine," she said, and she meant it. "I know it's been a while for you."

He moved off her and she grabbed the blanket immediately, covering herself as soon as she could. Scorpius just looked amused as he joined her underneath, grabbing her waist to hold her close and touch her again.

"Slow down," she said, keeping her eyes closed. She never would've spoken up during sex before, but Scorpius wasn't her boyfriend and she didn't really care if his ego was a little bruised.

He slowed down considerably. "Like this?"

" _Shit_." She felt her inner thighs squeeze uncontrollably. "Yes."

He kissed her but focused on the small circles he was making at her clit. She was still so sensitive and he felt so good. Her breathing picked up as she got closer, breaking her lips from his and pressing her forehead into his chest. She came moments later, moaning quietly into his skin.

Looking satisfied, he left to the bathroom as Rose laid back on his bed, heart still thumping. It was occurring to her that this was somehow the best sex she'd ever had, and it was with someone she wasn't dating or even fancied in the slightest.

After she got a chance to clean up, she came back into his room to see that Scorpius was already asleep. Suddenly feeling exhausted, she climbed in the bed beside him, thinking to herself that she would figure this out the next day, and for now, she would just enjoy the fact she felt satisfied, for the first time in ages.

That's all she wanted, really.

* * *

A/N: Okay so this was definitely a bit of a crazy chapter! I'm hoping you liked it and got a little more backstory on both Rose and Scorpius... and some smut haha! Please let me know what you think, it was my first time writing smut beyond kissing. :)

Next: Charlotte has a favour to ask of Rose.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

Rose woke the next morning to the sound of tapping. At first, she thought it was just the rain, but realized there was a tiny brown owl knocking at the window. She opened her eyes groggily and realized she was in Scorpius' bed. Her face grew warm thinking of the night before, and she was glad his back was towards her and couldn't see her blush.

She found her shirt and shoved it on, tugging it as far down as it could go before crossing over the window. She had to reach on her toes to get over Scorpius' planters and flip the latch open. The owl dropped the scroll in front of her and took off right away. She caught the parchment in her hands, unrolling it immediately.

' _Dear Miss Weasley,_

_Thank you for your application to the Auror Department. We would like to meet with you for an interview early next week. Please reply with a convenient time as soon as possible. Interviews are held in the Auror Office on Level Two._

_Sincerely,_

_Lisa Turpin_

_Wizard Resources'_

The 'Magical Law Enforcement' stamp was practically engraved onto the paper. Rose felt anxious already; she hadn't done a job interview in years, and though she knew it was coming, that didn't make it less nerve-wracking.

She shut the window and sat back down at the edge of the bed, re-reading the letter until her heart slowed down considerably. This wasn't so bad. Albus referred her, and she was positive she could do the work they asked. Perhaps she could prepare, somehow?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the soft rustling of grey cotton sheets as Scorpius rolled over in bed. She heard him yawn before he spoke, voice rough and sleepy. "Morning, Rose."

"Good morning," she replied quietly, folding the paper over three times.

"Are you going to work?"

"No, I took the day off."

"Hmm." He tugged at her shirt sleeve, making her look at him. "What's that?"

"I got a job interview," she said, holding up the folded square of parchment. "Owl just came."

"Congratulations," he said, yawning again. His sharp and somewhat intimidating features were softer – almost _cute_ – when he was sleepy, and she couldn't help thinking that he might almost be even more attractive in the morning.

Rose then spied something she hadn't noticed the night before, in the dark: black ink, etched onto the side of his shoulder, the top of his arm. It was on the opposite arm to the one facing her, and she couldn't make out what it was.

He interrupted her thoughts by tugging on her sleeve again. "You're so pretty."

She blushed and looked away.

"Are you busy tonight?" he asked.

"No…" Did he want to do this again already? She crossed her arms cautiously. "I'm going to be sore for at least a day."

"That's not what I meant," he said, frowning at her. "I can teach you something new tonight."

"Oh," she said, remembering his cooking lessons for her. "Right, yeah. That sounds good."

He shifted onto his stomach and pulled his sheets up before he buried his face in his pillow, effectively hiding his tattoo again. "You're going, then?"

"Yeah." She reached for the rest of her clothing, still at the end of his bed. "I think I'm going to send out some more resumés."

"Have a good day," he mumbled drowsily into his pillow. "Can you lock my door after you?"

Rose nodded even though he couldn't see her and quickly dressed. He was asleep by the time she'd found her keys, so she quietly locked the door behind her and made her way down the hall and back to her flat.

At least the walk of shame was short.

* * *

Rose took a long, relaxing shower before heading to Rosa Lee's café in Diagon Alley, just to change it up a little bit. She had to duck through the rain, but the coffee was worth it. She replied to the letter she received that morning and spent the rest of the day going in between writing resumés, reading the newspaper and cutting out recipe clippings. _Mostly_ the healthy ones. Skye had joined her for lunch, but left for Quidditch practice soon after.

She made it back to her place around dinnertime, knocking at Scorpius' door. Rose definitely knew how to make pasta, but she was curious to what he had to say about it. To her surprise, he didn't open the door. She went ahead and made dinner in her own flat, since she was getting hungry.

Tired from writing cover letters and resumés, Rose's attention drew to the new book she'd bought and started over the past week. She became engrossed with it, reading it throughout dinner and well into the night. It was nearly midnight when she was three-quarters through the story and thought she might get ready for bed.

As she was falling asleep, she realized Scorpius had never shown up.

The next morning, Rose was on her run when she received another letter, recognizing Roxanne's owl immediately as it dropped a scroll into her hands. Thankfully, no Muggles seemed to notice the letter, but a few of them were gawking at the owl as it flew away.

She stuffed the letter in her pocket and saved it until she reached home. She smiled to herself when she read it.

_Rose –_

_Noah surprised me last night with a weekend getaway. He rented a boat down south; can you believe him? Anyway, I expect I'll be gone all weekend and can't meet for brunch. I told Charlotte too, we'll be moving the menu dinner AGAIN._

_Sorry this is so last minute. Looks like I had nothing to worry about with Noah, did I?_

_Love,_

_Roxy_

Later, after she'd showered, she found Charlotte's owl tapping at her window.

_Hey Rose,_

_I'm sure you heard that Roxy's ditched us for the weekend. I moved the dinner to Wednesday so I hope you can make it._

_I have a huge favour to ask you. Al said you'll probably be at the Quidditch game tomorrow? I'll ask you then!_

_Charlotte_

She wondered what the favour could be, but she had a sinking feeling it was wedding-related.

Rose spent the rest of her day enjoying herself by finishing her book and relaxing. She thought about contacting her friends, but she'd just seen them all and was actually enjoying time by herself. Maybe she'd just lived with roommates for too long, but it was a new and welcome feeling.

It was mid-afternoon when she heard the familiar shouting of her neighbour, a cat meowing angrily and the door slamming. To her surprise, she heard a little scratching at her door a minute later. When she opened her door, the little grey cat darted inside and curled up in the corner beside her couch.

It didn't take a genius to see he was scared, and she couldn't help feeling a tiny bit flattered that he had chosen her flat to find refuge in. But she also knew cats – her mum had one when she was younger – and she knew it was less personal and more the fact that he was hungry.

Luckily, she'd picked up some cat food at the supermarket earlier that week, and she decided to shimmy some of it into a bowl. The cat stayed in the corner, but as the day went on and she came back to check, the bowl was empty.

It wasn't until the next morning, when the cat was meowing at her door and trying to get out, that she saw Scorpius again. He'd just opened his door as the cat darted down the hall and into the stairwell.

Scorpius looked down the opposite direction to Rose, an eyebrow raised. "I thought you were trying to befriend him."

"I'll have you know that he was in my flat all night," she replied, raising an eyebrow right back.

"Right." The corners of his mouth were twitching as he looked her up and down. "What in the actual hell are you wearing?"

Rose looked at her outfit; she was attending Hugo's Quidditch match that day, and she was decked out in a bold orange Chudley Cannons jersey. It looked like any other sports jersey, but only wizards knew the details.

"I'm going to the match," she said proudly. "Going to cheer on the best team in the league."

He snorted. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope."

"You even have it _signed_?" he said incredulously, and she twisted around to fully show the display of signatures of the players across the back.

"My brother's on the team," she explained, grinning.

"Fucking hell," he muttered under his breath, looking horrified. "Well, I hope they win today."

"What do you mean?"

"If they win that means they'll be an easy win for the Magpies," he explained, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Where were you, by the way?" she asked, locking her door before they headed towards the stairwell. "I thought you wanted to make something."

He wasn't looking at her, but Rose could see his eyes widen for a second as they descended down the stairs. "Was that Friday night?"

"Um, I think so?"

"I'm really sorry, Rose," he said, shaking his head. "I had a work emergency that evening. I completely forgot."

"A work emergency?" Rose repeated, surprised. "At the Apothecary?"

"Someone graffitied the shop and used a Permanent-Sticking Charm on the paint."

She peered at him, and though he seemed to be telling the truth, she'd never seen or heard of someone graffitiing any shop in Diagon Alley. Was the message targeted? He seemed a little uncomfortable with the whole matter, as though he rather wouldn't talk about it.

As they reached the landing, she asked, "Does this happen a lot?"

"Every once in a while," he admitted. "It takes a long time to undo the spell, and someone had to run the shop while I did that. Anyway, it must've slipped my mind."

"That's okay." Rose frowned in concern. "What did it say?"

He only shrugged, choosing not to answer.

"Maybe you can come over this week?" she suggested, changing the subject. "I found this recipe in the paper, thought it would be fun."

"Sure…" he trailed off, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "You didn't see anything else in the paper, did you?"

"Erm. No?"

"Okay," he said, sounding relieved and making her even more suspicious. She was the slightest bit conflicted; did she let him hide whatever he was hiding? Or was she going to comb through _The Daily Prophet_ as soon as she could to figure it out?

Okay, so she wasn't _that_ conflicted. They were friends now; she wanted to know.

"What are you doing today?" she asked as they stepped outside. She was heading towards Diagon Alley, and he seemed to be going the same direction.

"Cottage."

"Do you Floo or Apparate?"

"Floo, normally." His voice lowered, and she nearly bumped into him to hear. "I need something from Diagon Alley, but I'll probably just Apparate from there."

"What's that?"

"Seeds."

"Oh," she said, coming to the realization, "so you go to your cottage every weekend to _garden._ "

His ears turned red. "So?"

"Nothing," she said, grinning to herself. "It's just interesting."

Scorpius nudged her with his elbow. "It's not weird."

"I know. I said it was _interesting._ "

"Shut up," he snapped, not looking at her. Rose was absolutely pleased with herself, but he seemed oddly bothered by it – either her knowing he liked gardening, or her teasing – so she let the subject drop. As soon as they said their goodbyes, she scanned around for a newsstand before running to catch her Portkey.

Scorpius was much too secretive for her liking.

* * *

The Chudley Cannons were actually having a decent season, for once.

Rose found her parents in the stands with Albus, Charlotte, his parents, his older brother James and his younger sister Lily. James and Lily were seated at the front along with her father, who was a huge Quidditch fanatic. Her mother and Albus' parents were sitting in the middle. They were cheering as the players entered the grounds and Rose sat beside Charlotte and Albus in the back.

"You made it!" she said happily. "I hate watching Quidditch."

"Charlotte, you are marrying into the wrong family," Rose told her, shaking her head in disbelief. "Our family _loves_ Quidditch."

"I did warn her," Albus said, grinning at Charlotte. "Rose, I heard you got an interview."

"Yes!" She jammed the folded newspaper into her bag to high-five Albus over Charlotte's head. "It's on Tuesday. Do I need to do anything to prepare?"

"I dunno," Albus said, shrugging. "Probably not."

"How's the job search going?" Charlotte asked as Albus turned his attention back to the game. "Did you get any more interviews?"

Rose could practically see her mum's ears perk up in the stands in front of her. "Not yet, but hopefully. I applied to a bunch in the ministry."

"What about Hogwarts?" she asked as Rose watched Hugo speeding off with the Quaffle.

"Maybe I should check," Rose agreed. The school board always had a lot of work, especially during the year.

"What else are you thinking?"

"I dunno," she said, lowering her voice so her mum couldn't hear. "I don't even know where to start. I'd like to do something I enjoy more, but it doesn't seem practical."

"What do you enjoy?" she asked thoughtfully.

"It's not really as simple as you," Rose said, feeling like she was never going to able to explain it properly. She tore her eyes from the game to Charlotte. "You've always known you had this thing with art."

"I wasn't sure about it for a while," she confessed, leaning back in her seat. "I always go back and forth with my job, actually."

"Really? How come?"

"It's tough," she explained. "Freelancing is always a little hard in the beginning because you have to find your clients. You have to make them trust you. And then sometimes, they don't want to pay, even if you've put all this work in and used all the materials."

Rose felt alarmed. "Even after all those hours?"

"Exactly." Charlotte sighed. "I do love what I do, though. That makes it worth it. Eventually, I just realized that I was working for more than just money, and that was going to come with consequences."

"Like…"

"The stigma of unstable work. The idea that what you have defines your life more than what you've done."

Rose felt her face get hot, thinking of her couch and milestones and how even Scorpius thought they were silly. "Right."

"But Albus is supportive," she added, smiling. "He's never cared that I don't work a nine-to-five."

"What?" Albus asked, still engrossed in the game.

"Nothing." Charlotte turned back to Rose. "So, what do you like to do?"

"Nothing in particular," Rose said, staring down at her knees. "I like to read, but not really write. I'm kind of organized."

"You could probably do something with that."

"Maybe."

They fell silent and Rose turned her attention back to the game. The Cannons had scored three points but the Tornadoes had seen the Snitch twice already, but lost it both times. Hugo was barking orders at his teammates even though he wasn't Captain, which made Rose laugh.

"Oh!" Charlotte says, clearly not bothering to follow the game at all, "I have to ask you something."

"Oh yeah," Rose said absently, watching the Cannons' Seeker dodge a bludger.

"This is a lot," she continued, almost nervously, "and you can say no."

"I can?" Rose asked apprehensively. So far, the wedding favours had definitely not been an optional part of the process.

"Of course!" Charlotte put her hands onto Rose's shoulders, turning her towards her to get her full attention. "I really, _really_ need you to take my cousin to the wedding."

"You… what?" Rose spluttered. Whatever she'd been expecting – help set up the hall, listen to countless hours of tablecloth discussions, arrive six hours early to the wedding – it wasn't that. "Who's your cousin?"

"He's a Muggle," Charlotte began, and Rose immediately groaned. Dating Muggles was always an extra hassle she'd rather avoid. "No, no, he knows about magic! We're very close."

"Oh," Rose said, feeling a little better already. "So, why can't he find his own date?"

"It's not really that," she said. "He just got dumped by his girlfriend and now he's moping around. I think his ego's been bruised, and he really doesn't want to go to the wedding alone."

Rose snorted. "I was going to go by myself. It was a whole thing."

"Oh yeah, it was," Albus piped up, eyes still glued to the game. "It was part of Rose's independence deal. She wouldn't shut up about it, remember?"

Rose shot daggers with her eyes, but he didn't notice.

"But he's actually really nice!" Charlotte insisted, ignoring the exchange entirely. "I think you'd like him. He's a couple of years older than us, he's got a full-time job in tech and he's not bad to look at."

She pretended to think for a moment. "Well, that makes it so much better."

"Really?"

"No!"

"Please?" Charlotte practically begged. "Just pretend for like a day or two. And maybe at the menu dinner, and the rehearsal dinner…"

"… basically, all the events leading up the wedding?" Rose didn't want to say yes. She was about to say the opposite, actually, when Charlotte said the words that changed it.

"And I thought, because you're kind of a third wheel at these things, that you wouldn't mind…"

Rose went bright red, suddenly praying the stands would suddenly crumble and swallow her whole. Charlotte was normally such a sweetheart – maybe the stress of the wedding was getting to her? Maybe she thought she was doing _Rose_ a favour?

Fuck, did all of her friends think she was desperate?

"Fine," she said, regretting it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. "Fine, I'll go to the wedding with your cousin. But you definitely owe me."

" _Thankyousomuch!_ "Charlotte squealed and practically knocked Rose over with a hug. "I swear, he's really great, and this is going to make seating so much easier."

"I swear to Merlin, Charlotte –"

Rose was cut off by a loud, ear-splitting cheer around her. Suddenly they were all standing as the Cannons and Tornadoes Seeker were neck-in-neck, racing towards the Snitch. Rose let her eyes flit to the scoreboard – _tied,_ 100-100 – and looked back just in time to see the Tornadoes Seeker swipe and grab the Snitch.

Albus whooped and hollered – he was a Tornadoes fan – and she could see her father looking crestfallen in the front. Rose was disappointed, too, though a little smug by the fact that the Tornadoes were definitely going to give the Magpies, Scorpius' team, a better fight than the Cannons would.

As the game ended and the crowd started petering out, Rose quickly looked for Albus.

"Hey, Al," she said, tugging at his arm to hold him back. "Are you free tomorrow? Maybe we could grab dinner?"

"I have to pick up the rings, actually," Albus said apologetically. "I had to make an appointment, these people are so bloody ridiculous."

"Oh."

"How about Wednesday?" he asked.

"That's the menu dinner, remember?" she said. "To finalize the wedding menu."

"Oh perfect, I'll see you there." He glanced around to see his family and Charlotte by the closest stand entrance, waiting for him. He pecked a kiss on Rose's cheek before running off. "Bye, Rose!"

"See you," she called, trying to sound as cheerful as she could. This had to be some kind of bullshit; was all her friends and even _family_ going to ditch her for their significant others? She understood some of the time, but this was getting out of hand.

Rose turned to grab her bag and saw her mum waiting for her.

"Hey, sweetie," her mum said warmly, grabbing Rose for a tight hug. It instantly unwound something in her chest and made her feel better. "How was your week?"

"It was fine," she said, pulling away. "Too bloody hot, though."

"It wouldn't be summer in London without a heatwave."

"I'm thinking ice cream would be good right about now," Rose said, already thinking through the flavours when her dad came to give her a hug.

"Rosie," he said, unable to keep the grumble out of his voice. "That was a close game, eh?"

"I've moved on to ice cream," she said honestly, earning a hair ruffle from her dad.

He strolled towards the exit. "I'll get Hugo and we can all go out for dinner."

As soon as he was out of earshot, leaving them alone, Rose's mother turned to her eagerly. She rooted through her bag, saying, "I hope you don't mind, but I collected as many applications as I could for you."

Rose's smile froze on her face. "Mum, I…"

"You don't have to apply for them," she assured quickly, brandishing a large envelope that was paper clipped for some reason. "They're not even all from the Ministry. They're very good jobs, ones that even have some promotion opportunities."

Rose felt like an ungrateful bitch as her stomach plummeted. Her mum always went above and beyond for her, but for once Rose wished she could do things herself, her own way. Still, she took the envelope with the brightest smile she could muster.

She had to grow up, right? Act like an adult?

"Thanks, Mum," she said, moving in to hug her again. She could tell that this made her mother way happier than she would ever admit, and something inside her died a little. But Rose also knew that she could leave this envelope at home – no one was _forcing_ her to look through it.

It was the little, petty victories that were going to get her through adulthood.

At least, she hoped they would.

* * *

A/N: Hey there! Hope you enjoyed the new chapter and the new development… Rose has got a date for the wedding, unfortunately. :P

Next: Some counter fun ;)


	9. Chapter Nine

A/N: Mature rating for this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Rose was dreaming of little grey kittens with green eyes when she heard a loud knock at her door the next morning. Bleary-eyed, she stumbled out of her bed, still half-asleep since her _lovely_ neighbour had blasted music at five in the morning again, and it had taken her forever to go back to sleep for another precious hour of rest before work.

She opened the door to see Scorpius, not altogether surprised it was him – who else would it be? – but confused as to why he was standing in her door at half-past seven in the morning, already dressed for work, holding two coffee cups.

"Morning," he greeted, holding them up. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," she mumbled sleepily, not quite sure if she was dreaming or not. She stepped aside and he walked past her, putting one of the cups down on her kitchen counter as she closed the door. "Is that for me?"

"Yep," he said, taking a sip from his own cup.

"What for?" she asked, still confused. "How did you know how I like my coffee?"

"I've only seen it every day for the past week," he said, rolling his eyes. He watched as she took a sip and sighed happily. "Did I get it right?"

"Yeah," she said, hugging her cup to her chest. She still wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not. Scorpius had put exactly how much cream she liked in her coffee.

"Okay, good." He scratched at the back of his neck, leaning against the counter. "I'm sorry I was kind of a dick yesterday. This whole weekend, I guess."

"Were you?" she asked, closing her eyes as she drank her coffee.

"Probably. I dunno." He shrugged. "Between the emergency and everything else that was going on, I just got caught up in everything."

"It's fine," Rose said, waving a hand nonchalantly. She had no idea why he was apologizing, but she was willing to go with it if it meant she got a free coffee. She put it back on the counter. "I'm just going to brush my teeth, okay?"

"Sure."

When she came back, Scorpius was still in her kitchen, reading a couple of the recipes she'd cut out of the paper the other day and stuck on the fridge with magnets. She picked up her coffee and stood beside him; he was holding the one for macaroni salad.

"What do you think?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Kind of healthy," he said, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

She laughed. "I'm trying to get healthy, remember? I have to slim down a little bit for the wedding."

"You look fine to me," he replied, looking at the other recipe. "Oh, this is better. Pizza from scratch is the best."

"The recipe says to use store-bought dough," she pointed out.

Scorpius snorted.

Rose stood there, keeping her head on his shoulder, sipping her coffee and slowly waking up as he flipped through the other clippings. She thought about the day before; he had been a little snippy with her, but no more than usual. Scorpius was not a man of many words.

"How was the cottage?" she asked.

"It was fine," he said, sticking the recipes back on her fridge. "How was the game?"

"We lost," she said sadly. "I think the match was a tiebreaker. We were doing so well."

"Can't say I'm surprised," he said, not bothering to hide his grin. "Should I cheer you up?"

She rested her chin on his shoulder to look at him properly. "How?"

"Breakfast?"

"I don't really eat breakfast."

"Me neither." He thought for a moment, still looking at her; she could see the dark grey flecks that mixed with the silver in his irises.

Scorpius dipped his head and kissed her, gently at first, but it wasn't long before they were putting their coffees down to pull each other closer. He grabbed her arse, like he'd been holding back. Rose's arms wound around the back of his neck and she was thankful she'd brushed her teeth.

He brought her closer until she was fully pressed against him and standing on his shoes, tilting his head to deepen their kiss. He smelled good, like men's soap. His hands were sneaking down to her bare thighs — she was only wearing a long night shirt — and teasing at her skin.

She nipped at his bottom lip, making him release a breathy groan into her mouth.

Rose was only half-aware he was moving them backwards until her back hit the counter. His fingers dug into her as he lifted her onto it, taking care to shift her onto the empty space as he stepped between her legs. She was feeling déjà vu as her shirt rode upwards, and briefly wished she was wearing a sexier underwear than her plain cotton ones she'd slept in.

All thoughts disappeared as he pulled her onto the edge of her seat, causing her to wrap her legs around him. It made her smile; he was very good at getting the response he wanted, wasn't he? She retaliated by grinding her hips into him, which caused him to break his lips from hers.

Not even a split second went by before he was dragging his mouth across her neck, something he was clearly discovering was a delicate spot for her. She could feel her breathing shallow as she felt her lips on the side of her neck, not sucking quite enough for a hickey — she was conflicted on whether this was a good thing or not — but it wasn't quite a kiss. His lips and tongue created shudders down her back, almost unbearably.

Completely distracted, she hadn't noticed his fingers sneaking under her shirt, but was promptly brought into awareness as he touched her over her underwear, testing the waters. Her hips had a reaction of their own accord, jerking forwards into his hand, making her blush.

As though he could sense her sudden shyness, he held onto her waist again, dipping underneath her shirt to hold the soft skin. She felt his lips leave her neck and opened her eyes, only to widen them as she saw him kneeling down.

Her knees snapped together rigidly, causing him to look at her in confusion. She felt the blush burning in her cheeks, now; no one had ever done _that_ for her — Travis had always been too impatient for it — and she'd gotten the impression that it wasn't something men liked to do.

"You don't have to," she said in a rush, sure that even her neck was red now. Her knees tightened as he put a hand on each of them.

"I want to," he said. His voice was quiet, but firm. "Do you want me to?"

She couldn't answer, but she had a feeling he could read her expression easily.

"Tell me to stop and I will," he promised before kneeling down again. She hesitantly allowed him to bring her legs apart, surprised when he didn't immediately start or even drag her underwear down.

Instead, he started by pushing her shirt past her waist until he could see her hip bones, just above the waistband of her underwear. He kissed her there softy on each side before dropping down to her inner thighs, dropping light kisses as he spread her legs farther. His eyes kept glancing up, checking if she was all right, but she couldn't meet his gaze for the life of her.

She was nearly throbbing as he pushed her panties down, sensitive to the slightest brush of his fingers. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she had a slight warning when his hands held either side of her hips firmly.

Her eyes fell closed when he felt his lips in between her legs. His tongue was gentle but insistent, not stopping even when her waist twitched upwards and he held her down. She felt like she could barely breathe, the pleasure so intense that her mind was spinning.

It wasn't until she heard him humming against her that she realized she was moaning breathlessly. She leant back on her hands, trying not to let her thighs grip around his head as she felt herself getting closer. But she couldn't help herself; as his lips sucked on her clit, she cried out she came, arching against the counter.

He didn't let go of her waist until she caught her breath and her heart was slowing down. He took the end of her shirt back down to cover her thighs and gently pushed her backwards so she wouldn't fall on the kitchen floor.

"Okay," Rose said, eyes still on her knees. "If that's what I get when you're a little snippy with me, then I don't mind."

Scorpius laughed. "Don't forget the coffee."

"I'm eternally grateful to you for the coffee." She couldn't look at him straight on — she would be a blushing mess all over again — but she could tell he was quite pleased with himself.

"Mhmm." He grabbed his coffee cup and took a long sip.

"What about you?" she asked, toying with the hem of her shirt. Travis usually had a fit if she finished before him, let alone not at all.

"Later," he said, glancing at her clock. "I think I'm late — what's that?"

Before Rose could register his question, Scorpius had reached into her purse, which she'd left on the floor, beside the end of the kitchen counter. He pulled out the folded newspaper that was somewhat hidden by the giant folder of job applications that Rose's mum had given her. Clearly not entirely concealed, though.

He looked at her, scowling. "Are you kidding me right now?"

"What?" she asked, perplexed. She'd meant to go through the paper the night before, but she had a few other things on her mind.

"You are so fucking nosy," he said crossly.

She glowered back at him, instantly on defense. "Excuse me? You were so obvious yesterday! You practically asked me to check the paper."

"Did you find anything?"

"I didn't look yet," she said, hopping off the counter to grab for the paper. He held it out of her reach.

"Do you _have_ to know everything?" he shot, stepping backwards. "Why do you even want to know, anyway?"

"You're my friend," she responded, confused by his odd behaviour. She'd been called a know-it-all before, but not quite like this. "And obviously something is bothering you, isn't it?"

"I –" He broke off and shoved a hand through sandy blond hair. "I have to get to work."

"Scorpius." Rose bit her lip as he looked at the newspaper, looking somewhere between extremely irritated and… sad? She knew she could go overboard sometimes, but she didn't want to hurt him. He never seemed to mind her incessant questioning before, even seemed amused by it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

He didn't look as angry anymore, which was a slight relief. "I'll tell you about it. Soon."

"Really?" This confused her even more.

"But now I have to get to work." He tucked the newspaper under his arm and practically ran out her door.

Rose glanced at the clock and realized she had approximately fifteen minutes before she absolutely had to be out the door.

Shit.

* * *

Scorpius didn't tell her when she saw him at the café the next morning. He had just received his coffee and kindly rejoined the line to greet her, but he didn't bring it up, and she was a little apprehensive to do so. Nevertheless, she was glad he wasn't angry with her.

She could admit it wasn't her best moment, the snooping; it was none of her business, after all.

Instead, she told him, "I have my interview today."

"Oh," he said, glancing down at her more formal attire, "that's why you're wearing that."

"Does it look okay?"

"It looks nice," he confirmed, sipping his coffee, "but I think I prefer your other dresses."

She nudged him with her shoulder playfully, trying not to laugh. "Don't make fun of me. I'm nervous."

"Well, if you're going to a new workplace, you might as well give them a warning about your strange affinity for bright colours," he deadpanned, but she could see him smiling into the rim of his cup.

"You know you like my dresses."

"Maybe," he said, raising an eyebrow cheekily. She turned away to grin.

Truthfully, she had exactly one interview outfit – a white blouse and grey pencil skirt – and it really was the least colourful thing she owned. She hadn't used it in several years, but thankfully, it still fit fine with a couple of well-placed enlarging spells.

"Where's the interview?" he asked as they moved forward in line.

She leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Auror Office."

"That doesn't seem like something you're interested in," he said, frowning.

"I'm interested in anything that gets me work," she admitted. "Besides, I don't really have anything in particular that I'd like to do."

"Hmm." He thought to himself as they reached the front and Rose ordered her drink. "What do you like to do in your spare time?"

Rose shrugged, stepping off to the side where she could put cream in her coffee. "I dunno. I like to read; I've been getting back into that. I like movies."

"So, you like stories."

She sighed impatiently; she'd had this conversation with many people, many times over the years. "I don't write. I'm not a writer."

Scorpius held up one hand in defense – the other one was occupied by his coffee cup. "I just said you like stories. Simple observation."

"Right." She placed a plastic lid on her cup. "Well, it's not helpful for the job search."

"I suppose not." He offered a small smile. "Good luck today."

* * *

Despite the well wishes, Rose's stomach tied in knots all morning; she almost knocked her coffee cup twice into a pile of important papers, accidentally sent a message meant for her boss to Broom Control and managed to completely forget about a meeting and only arrived halfway through.

To her surprise, she found Albus walking through the door of her office right at the beginning of lunchtime. He was missing his robes, but he still had his Auror badge slung around his neck by a lanyard.

He was grinning at her as he approached her desk. "Ready for your interview?"

"I'm nervous," she disclosed, shrugging her robe off and draping it on the back of her chair. "What are you doing here?"

"I owe you lunch." He gave her a guilty smile at her questioning look. "I know I haven't been around as much."

"Well, we don't live together anymore," Rose pointed out as they left the office together. "I guess it was bound to happen."

"I guess."

They exited the Ministry and walked down the block to a little café. Although they'd frequented this café for several years, Rose couldn't remember the last time she and Albus had gotten lunch together. It had to have been months, at least.

That couldn't be right. Had it really been _months_ since she last had lunch with her cousin?

"It's getting so hot," Albus said, wiping his brow as they sat down. "When is this bloody heatwave going to be over?"

"Hmm," Rose hummed in agreement. She was looking over the menu, debating getting her usual, but the salads seemed intriguing. Her runs had been going well – she was getting a little faster – but she was well aware that she wasn't exactly eating well.

After they ordered – for Albus, turkey sandwich and Rose, a salad – she let out a long sigh, her stomach twisting at the thought of her interview.

"My boss is going to interview you," he assured her, immediately understanding why she was a little quiet. "He's really nice."

"I'm sure." She fumbled with the sleeve of her shirt as she folded it up her forearm. "How many applicants are there?"

"Just three," he said, "but don't worry, Rose. You have a lot of potential. He's going to love you."

Rose smiled at him.

"I haven't heard back from anywhere else, yet," she said. "It doesn't seem like most people are hiring."

"It is the middle of the summer," he pointed out. "Most people are on vacation."

"I was thinking of somewhere to travel," she said, folding the other sleeve, "last week, when we were deciding on your honeymoon."

"Where are you thinking?" he asked as the waiter placed ice-cold glasses on water on the table.

"Not sure…" She trailed off, voicing something that had been on her mind for the past few days. "If I'm being honest, I've saved a lot and I don't really need to start a job right away. I'm probably good for the rest of the summer."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." She lifted her glass to her lips, not meeting his eyes. "I mean, it could be fun to travel a little next month? Stay in hostels, keep it affordable?"

"Maybe," he said, shrugging, "but wouldn't you want to find a job first? I couldn't really imagine being in limbo like that."

Rose leant back in her chair, trying not to sound deflated. "Right. Yeah."

This was the thing with Albus: he had always been the more responsible one. She'd appreciated it a lot in school – she had no idea how she would have survived being Head Girl, being on the Quidditch team _and_ studying for N.E.W.T.s without him – but she sometimes resented it.

She would never admit it, but Albus wasn't as fun as Roxanne, who always cheered her up when she was falling asleep over her homework, stayed up singing and dancing in the dorms until early morning and dragged her to parties she never thought she would enjoy, but always did.

Rose really missed Roxy.

"So," she said, "how's the wedding planning going? Did you pick up the rings last night?"

"Yeah," he confirmed after swallowing a mouthful of water. "Everything's set, tomorrow we'll finalize the damn menu. Charlotte is going a little crazy trying to plan everything, but I'm trying to convince her that not _everything_ has to be perfect."

"Ah," she said.

"I expect she'll tell you that on Friday," he said, and she was amazed he knew _and_ remembered about the girls' sleepover. Perhaps Charlotte had told him about it.

"I suppose." She swirled her water around in the glass, watching the ice clink around the sides. "I'm kind of pissed at her."

"What? Really?" he asked, surprised.

"For what she said on Sunday, remember?"

"Oh, because she wants to set you up," he said, sighing. "I told her it wasn't a good idea. I met her cousin and he's nice, but I know you're not interested. She wouldn't listen."

Rose felt oddly warmed that Albus had tried to vouch for her.

"Thanks," she said, struggling to say it, "but that wasn't exactly why."

"Really?"

"She said I was a third wheel." She frowned. "I dunno. I thought we were all just hanging out as friends. I wasn't aware I was crashing date night."

Albus stared at Rose. "She said that?"

"Yeah… you were there, Al," she said, laughing nervously.

He groaned, scrunching his eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Rose. Please just ignore her. I swear she's just going insane from the wedding planning."

"I know." Rose changed the subject; she was still a little stung, but she didn't want to think about it anymore. "Anyway. I'm excited for the dinner tomorrow."

"Me too, actually," he said, leaning back in his chair. "It was actually the first restaurant we tried. The food is amazing."

"I hope Charlotte's cousin won't mind that I might be distracted by the food," she joked.

Albus laughed. "Well, don't have a love affair in front of him."

"What's he like?" she asked curiously. "I mean, I know it's sort of a pity date, but it would be nice to know what I'm up against."

"He's all right," he replied, shrugging. "I met him at a pool party last summer. He and Charlotte are pretty close, even though he's a Muggle."

"Pool party?" Rose pouted playfully, making him laugh again. "Why wasn't I invited?"

They chatted over lunch, a little bit about the wedding, a little bit more catching up. Apparently Albus had gotten himself in a prank war with his cubicle mate; he was good friends with his co-workers, but summer had been mostly a little slow, so he'd relieved his boredom by magicking his colleague's stapler. Every time it would open, it would start loudly singing opera music. His co-worker retaliated by enchanting Albus' chair, which would push back exactly when he was trying to sit down.

Before she knew it, she was walking with Albus back to his office – her interview was just after lunch – and he hugged her outside his boss' door. She felt a little bit of her anxiety ease, just from that.

"Good luck," he said, squeezing tightly. "You're going to do great, Rose. You're so talented."

"So they say," she joked nervously, pulling away to unfold her sleeves back down and straighten her outfit. His secretary called her in, and she gave him a smile. "See you on the other side."

He put a hand up in goodbye before returning to his desk. Rose took a deep breath; he was right. She exhaled in decision and marched into her interview. She needed a job, and now was the time to put on her best smile and pretend she had her shit together.

Sometimes, that's just what you had to do.

* * *

A/N: Hope you're all doing well and enjoyed this chapter :)

It was a hard decision to keep posting this mostly fun story at the moment. I'm a few chapters ahead in writing (I do that so the plot works out okay), so I was able to post, but I hope it wasn't seen as insensitive or anything. Writing last week was quite mentally difficult with everything going on. But I just hope that whatever I write can bring a little joy to your day.

Next: Rose meets her wedding date.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

When Rose first saw Roxanne outside the restaurant, she thought there was something different about her. It didn't _look_ like she'd gotten a haircut, but it was entirely possible. Her already tanned skin was a little more tan – a weekend on a boat and sun will do that to you – but Rose was sure that wasn't it.

Something else was different… there was a glow to her. She wasn't pregnant, was she?

It hit her when Roxanne held up her left hand and revealed a distinct glittering rock.

"Holy shit," Rose said, jaw dropping.

"I know."

"No, holy _shit._ "

"Rose." Roxanne's grin was wildly happy – happier than Rose had ever seen her.

Rose shut her mouth with a snap. "I'm going to kill you."

"What?" Roxy asked, confused.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me as soon as you got back!" Rose squealed – yes, actually squealed, and she wasn't afraid to admit it – and threw her arms around her in a tight hug. "Roxanne! Congratulations!"

"You're the first person I told," she assured, squeezing back. "I mean, besides Mum and Dad. And Fred."

" _Fred_ knew before me?" Rose pulled away with a dramatic scowl. "That's insulting."

"He's my brother," she replied, shrugging and still smiling widely. "I'm _engaged._ "

"It took him long enough!"

"I'll say," Roxy said, laughing. "You'll be maid of honour, right?"

"Of course. You'll have to tell me the full story soon," Rose said, hugging her again as Ella walked up to the restaurant, glancing between them curiously.

Roxanne had owled her that morning to meet her in front of the restaurant before the dinner because she had to talk to her about something. She had clearly wanted to tell the news to Rose first, before telling everyone else.

It made her heart swell. Just a little bit.

"Hey," Ella said as she approached them. "No one else is here yet?"

"No, everyone's inside," Roxanne said, opening the door to the restaurant. "Shall we?"

Charlotte and Albus' dinner party was large enough that they'd given them the table at the back with enough chairs for Rose, the couple, Roxanne, Ella, Skye and their respective boyfriends. As soon as Roxanne sat down, Charlotte's eyes zeroed in on the new diamond ring on Roxy's finger.

Then, she promptly screamed.

Everyone immediately got up to congratulate Roxanne and Noah, hugs going around. They had all just sat back down when a rather muscular man with curly dark hair came in and sat down beside Rose, in the only empty chair.

"What did I miss?" he asked playfully, straightening his seat.

"Oh, you made it!" Charlotte said excitedly from the other side of the table, practically shouting again. "Rose, this is my cousin, Nathan Jones."

"Hi there," he said, extended his hand towards her.

"Hi," she said, smiling at him as she shook his hand. "I hear you're my wedding date?"

"That's me," he said. He had soft features with big brown eyes that seemed to almost glimmer and see right through her. Maybe it was just the dim lighting of the restaurant. Rose definitely didn't need a boyfriend right now, but Charlotte was right: he _was_ nice to look at.

The first course that was served were the appetizers; they'd gone with stuffed flaky pastries, a fancy-looking kale salad and a platter of grapes, cheeses and precisely cut baguettes. Rose was literally in heaven, all thoughts of healthy eating going out the door, and Nathan was eyeing her with a smile.

"It _is_ good," he said, and she nodded in agreement, mouth full of bread and cheese. "Have you been here before?"

She swallowed. "No, actually. Albus and Charlotte tried out restaurants with their parents without all of us. Have you?"

"I've been here on a different occasion," he replied, neatly using his fork and knife to cut a piece of the savoury pastry. "I think the last time was a work dinner."

"Where do you work?" she asked.

"Tech company." He grinned sheepishly. "Charlotte mentioned you probably wouldn't understand."

"I'm not big on technology," she admitted, wrapping a long piece of kale around her fork like spaghetti. "I do love movies, though."

Nathan's eyes lit up.

They traded notes on the new movies over the year as they finished their appetizers and a bottle of wine was opened. Rose recognized this feeling very well; the back-and-forth with an attractive man and the way they seemed to agree on everything and block out the rest of the table.

She wasn't going to deny that it was a little flattering.

As the dinner came, she tried to focus her attention on the stuffed chicken that was being served with a decadent sauce. Nathan kept brushing his hand against hers every time he took a sip of wine, and she _swore_ he was doing it on purpose. Butterflies popped in her stomach every time it happened.

But damn, the food was spectacular.

"It's good, isn't it?" Nathan said, watching her deliberately cutting her chicken into small pieces. She was aware that when she took big bites, her cheeks looked like chipmunks, so she was trying to take smaller bites to avoid.

Yes, she hated herself for thinking that. But he was extremely fit, and she couldn't help it.

She nodded. "It's amazing."

"So, what do you do?" he asked. "I mean, I hope I can understand."

"I, er, work in the government," she said. Not for long, but he didn't need to know that. "You know, paperwork, the daily grind…"

"It must be interesting?"

"It's for transportation," she explained, "and I basically organize the appointments, make sure any accidents are logged correctly, that sort of thing."

"I thought you all could just get anywhere in the blink of an eye," he said admiringly, snapping his fingers. "Charlotte showed me once. It was thrilling! You can do that, can't you?"

"Yeah," she said, trying to shrug nonchalantly, like she didn't walk everywhere to avoid Apparating because she hated it so much. "It's second nature, really."

"Brilliant and beautiful," he said, smiling at her.

The way he was looking at her made her blush and take a long sip of wine.

"How long have you worked in tech?" she asked as they finished the main course.

"Since graduating uni," Nathan replied, nodding thanks to the waitress as they took their dinner plates. "I started with mechanical engineering, but switched over to programming as soon as I could. There's a huge demand for it."

Rose understood immediately; Travis always spoke like this, in a roundabout, seemingly-humble way. This man was rich. "And you like the company?"

"Oh, I can't ask for better," he said, reaching to refill his wine glass. "Great perks, my co-workers are amazing. I just got promoted, actually."

"Congratulations," she said, grinning at him. He held up his glass and she tapped her nearly-empty glass against his full one.

"Can I pour you some more?" he asked.

"Oh, sure." She twisted a finger in one of her red curls as he re-filled her glass, looking over at the rest of the group; they all seemed to be chatting with one another. Across from her, Roxy caught her eye and raised her eyebrow; she always knew when Rose was attracted to someone.

Dessert was served in the middle of the table, and her mouth fell open as they brought an actual chocolate fountain and a tower of strawberries to her end of the table. At the other end of the table, she saw another fountain and small, round slices of cheesecake covered in caramel being served onto their plates. She got hers a moment later.

"I think I've actually died and gone to a vastly better place," Rose said, mostly to herself.

"What about the wedding dinner?" he asked.

"My ghost is going to be fucking _thrilled._ "

Nathan laughed. "You're quite the charmer, Rose."

"Thanks," she replied, blushing again. She didn't look up from her cheesecake, which was currently melting in her mouth, but she could see him staring at her from the corner of her eye.

There was a wicked part of her that chose that moment to pop a toothpick into a strawberry, dip it in the chocolate fountain, and meticulously lick it off with her tongue. His face went bright red and looked away. She resisted every urge she had to laugh.

A little flirting never hurt anyone, did it?

Roxanne finally stopped making googly eyes at her new fiancé to poke Rose with her foot. "Hey."

"What's up?" she asked, closing her eyes as she ate another chocolate-covered strawberry.

"I'm coming early on Friday," she said, referring to Rose's sleepover the girls had planned the previous week. "Should I bring anything?"

"Nothing really," Rose replied. "What are you coming early for?"

"You know," Roxy said, giving her a pointed look. _Right,_ she wanted to talk aboutScorpius.

Rose felt a slight twinge of guilt, then; would he care that she was kind of on a date, even if it was a favour to a friend? They were definitely very clear on it not being a romantic relationship and she didn't think they fancied each other at all. They were just friends, but also happened to be attracted to each other and have fantastic sex.

 _No,_ she decided to herself; he likely wouldn't care. But she still felt odd about it.

Either way, when dessert was cleared and they'd stood up to hug and say their goodbyes, she tried to avoid talking to Nathan any further, but no such luck. He was waiting for her and sought her out.

"Rose," he said, catching her hand with hers as the rest of the party began to leave. "I had a really nice time getting to know you."

"Oh," she said, pleasantly surprised; she felt like he didn't really know her at all. "Thank you. It was nice to meet you as well."

"I suppose I'll see you at the bridal shower?" he asked. Charlotte was hosting a bridal shower the next week – more of a couple's shower, really – before the bachelorette party.

"Yeah," she said, nodding. He squeezed her hand and gave her the most obvious look-over before he left. She had no interest whatsoever being his rebound, but she couldn't pretend that she wasn't relieved that her date was handsome. Even if it was just a favour.

As he walked away, Roxanne greeted her with a bump of her hip.

"He seems nice," she said. Rose watched his very firm arse as he walked away.

"He's fine." She turned to Roxy, who was waiting expectantly. "What?"

"He obviously fancies you," Roxy said.

Rose laughed. "He's rebounding. And it's just a favour to Charlotte, he knows that."

"So you're not going for it?"

"I'm not doing relationships," Rose told her, crossing her arms over her chest. "Remember? After Travis… I just realized it's not worth it."

"It's been a year."

"Not long enough."

"You've always wanted to get married," Roxanne said, smiling sympathetically. "Don't you think you'll want to get back on the horse one of these days?"

"I can ride a horse without marrying it," Rose said without thinking.

Roxanne burst into laughter.

"I'll see you soon," Roxy promised, hugging Rose tightly. "We have a lot to discuss."

* * *

Rose was still smiling to herself as she knocked on Scorpius' door after she got home, just after seven-thirty. The hall didn't even smell like fish anymore. When he answered, he was in his pyjamas – worn, cotton shorts and a Magpies t-shirt – and he was in the middle of chewing something.

"Did I interrupt your dinner?" she asked as he stepped back to let her in.

He swallowed before answering. "No, I just finished."

"I just had an _amazing_ meal," she said, bouncing over to his couch and plopping down. "We were just finalizing the menu for the wedding, and Scorpius, this restaurant is _amazing._ "

"You may have mentioned that," he joked, sitting beside her. There was an empty plate with crumbs and an open book open on his coffee table, along with a nearly empty glass of red wine. He eyed it. "Do you want to drink or something?"

"No, thanks," she replied. "I'm really full. I may have overeaten. I think I might also overeat at the wedding."

"They usually try to impress beforehand, don't they?" he pointed out, folding the edge of the page over before closing his book.

Rose stared at him in shock. "Did you just…"

"What?" he said, looking around.

"You folded the corner!" she emphasized in horror. "Scorpius. That ruins the book."

"How?"

"It just does!" She practically leapt over the table to open the book back up again and smooth out the tiny fold in the paper. "I need to get you a bookmark or something. This is outrageous."

Scorpius just smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

Rose sat back on his sofa with a sigh. "Whatever. This isn't going to ruin my good mood."

"You do seem especially happy today," he observed.

"My best friend just got engaged," she told him, grinning at the thought. "I dunno. I'm just so happy for her. She was telling me that she thought her boyfriend – er, fiancé – was acting weird. Then he whisked her away for the weekend and obviously proposed. I still need that full story."

"Who's your best friend?" he asked.

"Roxanne Weasley." Scorpius shrugged; surely he knew her, but never met. Rose had never really known any Slytherins in their year, either. "I mean, we have a little group of ours, all from school. But Roxy's my best friend. We grew up together and we were always together in school."

"I can't really remember you in school, to be honest." He peered at her. "I'm guessing your interview went well, too?"

"Yeah." She sighed happily, smiling to herself. A moment later, she spotted a Wireless in the corner of her eye, just out of the reach on his bedside table. She stretched over and flipped it on, dialing it to her favourite station. A familiar, cheery tune sounded in the room, so she turned up the volume.

"What are you doing?" he asked. She stood up and held her hand out expectantly.

"Dance with me."

His cheeks tinged pink. "I don't – I haven't danced in –"

"Oh, stop overthinking it," she said, grabbing both his hands and practically yanking him up. She pulled him around the table and put her arms around his shoulders, swaying freely. His hands started awkwardly at his sides, but he laughed when she pulled on one hand and twirled herself around.

"How drunk are you?" he wondered aloud. Despite his reluctance, Scorpius' eyes had dropped to where Rose's dress flared and spun.

"Not even a little," she objected, shrugging as she put her hands back on her shoulders. "I mean, I had a glass of wine with dinner –"

"There it is," he said, but he looked amused.

"I don't drink very much anymore," she told him, and he shrugged. Non-judgemental.

" _And I'll always be there,_ " she sang along, making him wince from the volume, " _and always I'll swear…_ "

His hands held her waist as they danced, which she particularly liked. After the song finished, she turned off the radio. Clearly Scorpius wasn't a dancer, but she was glad he was willing to placate her.

"I love that song," she told him.

"I see that," he said, nodding. She looked at him properly for the first time that night; there was something about him that was off, though it wasn't immediately obvious.

"You seem sad," she realized.

He looked surprised – maybe he wasn't sad? Or maybe he hadn't expected her to say it. "I'm not sad."

"You look sad," she confirmed, ignoring him.

He shook his head no, a weak protest.

"Let's go for a walk," she suggested instead.

"Now? Where?"

"Nowhere. Anywhere. Come on," she said, reaching down to tug on his hand.

"Let me change first," he said, pulling himself out of her grasp.

It was still pleasantly warm out when they got out of the building. Scorpius seemed even less likely to talk when he was sad, so Rose decided to describe the meal she had in all its glory, and he listened with rapt attention. Maybe he was trying to distract himself, or maybe she was annoying him. Either way, he wasn't running away.

"So, what did you have for dinner?" she asked, finishing her description of dessert as they stopped for a traffic light to change.

"Nothing much," he shrugged, "just a sandwich."

She looked at him closely. "Now I _know_ something's wrong."

He rolled his eyes. "Rose."

"I'm just saying," she said, looking at the light as it flashed green, "we're friends. If you want to talk about it, my ears are open."

They crossed the road in a comfortable silence. They walked by a street performance of a group of jugglers tossing around sticks of fire to each other. They were nearing the main shopping district of London, which made Scorpius take Rose's wrist to lead her the opposite way, closer to Diagon Alley.

"Too crowded," he offered in explanation, letting go of her.

"Don't like people, Scorpius?" she teased.

"I fucking hate people," he grumbled, making her laugh.

"I don't mind crowds," she said, "but I don't really prefer them. Except for my family, they're a riot."

"You like having a big family?"

"It's a blessing in disguise," she sighed.

"I've always wanted a big family," he said contemplatively, "but I wonder if I just like the idea of it. My family does put a lot of importance on connections, though. I practically grew up with my housemates."

"Miles Zabini and Victor Goyle, right?" she asked, thinking back to the Slytherin crowd. "I can't remember the others."

"Yeah, those idiots," he said, a begrudging fondness in his voice.

Rose laughed.

"What about your friends?" he asked.

"Roxanne and Skye were my closest friends from my dorm, and Albus was in Gryffindor, too," she explained. "Then he started dating Charlotte Jones in Hufflepuff, and she and her friend Ella sort of joined our group after we all graduated. We basically do everything together."

"I see."

"It gets a bit difficult with their boyfriends," she admitted, mostly thinking to herself. "There are just so many of us now. I'm the only single one, and I'm starting to feel left out."

"Have you told them that?" he asked.

"Nah. I'd feel like I'm bursting their bubble."

"Hmm." He paused. "Sometimes it feels like that among my friends, as well. Miles got married last year, and at first, he was absent even when he was with us. But things returned to normal eventually."

"I suppose marriage changes things," she said, thinking of Albus and his obliviousness, and felt another twinge of hurt. Then her stomach bottomed out in hoping that Roxanne wouldn't do the same. She wouldn't, would she?

"It changes a lot," he agreed.

There was a long moment of silence as they passed the shops and chatter of even the lesser busy streets. Rose could hear their shoes across the pavement, and she looked down to watch her steps. They'd just entered a clearing, a small bubble without a gaggle of people, when Scorpius spoke again.

"My ex just got engaged last week," he said quietly. "That was what was in the paper."

Rose's gaze darted up to his face immediately; he'd gone a bit red. "That sucks."

"I don't care," he said, obviously lying. "We're still friends, and I'm happy for her. I went to her engagement party this weekend. It just surprised me, is all."

"Threw you in for a tailspin, I suppose," she guessed, though she couldn't for the life of her understand why he didn't want to tell her. Maybe he was even more private than she'd originally thought. "I get it. One of my exes – maybe you remember him, his name is Liam Wood? – he got married a couple of years ago."

He looked at her in interest.

"We only dated for six months, in our Seventh Year," she admitted, "but I think it was the first time I really fell in love. He broke up with me because we graduated."

"Oh, I see."

"We weren't really good for each other anyway," she said, looking at a particular brick protruding out of the red cobblestone street. "We were terrible at communicating. I think he was especially annoyed at me because my Seventh Year was really difficult."

"Why?"

"You mean, besides being Head Girl, on the Quidditch team and studying for N.E.W.T.s?" she said, chuckling. "He was really passionate about Quidditch, way more than the rest of us. He was always irritated because I couldn't figure out what to do for work, since I don't really have any passions of my own."

"What?" he asked, sounding confused. "What do you mean?"

It was Rose's turn to flush red. "I don't really have any passions. You know this."

"I don't know this," Scorpius said, forehead wrinkling at her as they stopped before another crosswalk. "You spent twenty minutes the other day describing some book you stayed up all night to read."

She snorted, thinking of how she basically talked his ear off that morning.

"And then you practically cried when you drank your coffee because, and I quote, ' _caffeine is beautiful,_ '" he finished.

"Reading books isn't a passion, though," she told him, "Neither is coffee."

"Maybe not," he said, suddenly smirking at her, "though you certainly are passionate."

Rose blushed again and took the opportunity to look away as the crosswalk gestured them forward. She was glad it was a bit dark, despite the streetlights. "Shut up, Scorpius."

"I didn't say anything," he said innocently.

"Anyway, he got married a couple of years ago," she continued, "and even though I was with Travis at the time, it bugged me for some reason. It took a while for Liam to really get out of my head."

"I see."

"And also, it didn't help that Travis was always being an asshat."

Scorpius laughed quietly. "I was the asshat to Annika."

"Why do you say that?"

He didn't answer. He stared ahead, where they could start to see their building come back into sight; they'd done a full loop of their neighbourhood. She had a feeling that she could only get so much out of him, and she'd reached her limit for the evening.

Eventually, she said, "Well, you can always talk to me about it. I'm the last person to judge for losing sleep over your ex's engagement."

Scorpius considered her in bewilderment, that somehow, she'd guessed why he'd been so tired the previous week. But he stayed quiet all the way back to their building, reaching the third-floor landing and standing outside Rose's flat.

"Good night, Scorpius," she said as she unlocked the door.

"Night." He cleared his throat, hands in his pockets. "Come over tomorrow."

"Sure, what're we making?"

"I dunno," he said unconcernedly, stepping backwards towards his flat. He gave her a smile before she went inside and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Rose was getting ready for bed when she noticed her parents' owl perched on the windowsill outside her bedroom. Toothbrush still her mouth, she let the owl inside and fetched it a little water. As it drank, she opened the letter it had brought her.

_Rose,_

_How are you doing? I hope you found the applications useful. Let me know if I can write a few letters to any of them – it always helps to have connections! Tell me which ones you sent applications to._

_I also thought that you might even want to try taking a few courses. I know you loved school and learning, so I've compiled a list of academies that are offering specializations._

_Love,_

_Mum_

Attached was a ridiculously long list of post-secondary schools and academies Rose had never heard of. They were all over England, even France – she didn't even _know_ French.

Groaning, Rose stuffed the letter in the same envelope with all the applications and finished brushing her teeth. She tried not to feel frustrated and angry – her mum was just trying to help, as usual – but she hated feeling like her mum thought she couldn't figure it out on her own.

She went to bed, mind racing of all the things she _could_ do, and the overwhelming feeling that her purpose had been lost in the shuffle of work and money and bills. If she was supposed to have a purpose, anyway. And where was enjoyment supposed to fit in any of this?

Rose didn't sleep much that night.

* * *

A/N: Hey there, I hope you liked this chapter! Any thoughts on Rose's wedding date, or the reason behind Scorpius' brooding? Also don't worry, that talk between Rose and Roxanne is coming... as you can see, Roxanne was otherwise a little occupied haha. Thank you for reading!

Thank you also to those of you who mentioned that it was okay if I was taking a little longer to write. I'm still going to post regularly and I'm excited for you to read it, especially if this story is a bit of an escape for you as it is for me. Hope you're all staying safe and healthy :)


	11. Chapter Eleven

A/N: Warning, this chapter might make you hungry. :P Also, mature warning.

**Chapter Eleven**

Rose got home after work to see the neighbour's cat curled up and napping outside her door. She really did have a soft spot for this cat, but that day, she was just not in the mood. The cat awoke when she opened her door and brushed past her legs to get inside.

She put her things down and grabbed some food for the cat. He watched her eagerly as she opened the can and practically dove for the bowl as she put it down on the kitchen floor. She was dejected enough to plop down on the floor beside it and rested her back against the kitchen cabinet.

It had been a very long day.

To her surprise, as he finished eating, the cat came over and rubbed his furry head against Rose's leg. She stared at him in shock; he had never done that before.

Cautiously, she raised her hand to gently stroke its back, very slowly reaching towards him. His little green eyes followed her fingers intently, but let her give a few pets before meowing and escaping off to the corner of her living room.

She sighed and remembered that Scorpius had asked her – well, more like demanded – to go over that evening and probably cook something. Even though she'd been diligent and gone running that morning, all she really wanted to do was order the greasiest meal she could think of.

Comfort food was important, okay?

Not bothering to grab or keys or lock her door, she made her way to Scorpius' flat, wearily knocking three times. Rose heard his voice through the door.

"It's open!"

When she went inside the unlocked door and snapped it shut behind her, she was surprised to see Scorpius leaning over his planters by the window, concentrating on something – his back was turned, and she couldn't see.

As she opened her mouth to greet him, he gave her a sharp, "Shhh!"

Rose stomped over to the couch, threw herself onto his couch, sunk into the cushions and grabbed one of the pillows to hug it to her chest. She was already regretting going over.

She heard the slow _snip snip_ of clippers; Scorpius was obviously doing some sort of precise cutting on his plants, but she had no idea what he was doing and frankly, didn't really care. She wished that she was under her covers in her bed instead of making food.

Although, she had to admit, whatever was on the stove smelled amazing.

It was several minutes before Scorpius turned around, putting the clippers down and joined her on the couch, causing it to sink towards him. He was unfolding his rolled-up sleeves when she grumbled, " _Don't_."

He stopped. "Don't what?"

Rose reached over and folded his sleeves up again. She really did like seeing his forearms.

"Bad day?" he asked cautiously, the corners of his lips twitching.

"I got _six_ rejections for interviews," she said angrily, squeezing the pillow in her arms. "One by one, right at my desk at work."

"What were the reasons?" he asked.

"No one's hiring," she grumbled, "and one of them made it clear I wasn't qualified enough. Like you need qualifications to staple things and answer memos."

Scorpius looked like he was trying not to laugh, which really infuriated her. "That's okay. I remember getting loads of rejections when I was applying for jobs."

She picked at a loose thread on the pillow. "That sucks."

"One will come through for you."

"I haven't heard from the position at the Auror Office," she told him, "but I did get an interview at my friend Ella's office. For an assistant editor, basically an intern."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It is," she said, but she didn't know how to express how frustrating it was. It seemed like everything was about connections, and despite her famous last name, there were so many Weasleys that it didn't make much of a difference.

"I was thinking," he began, leaning back to get comfortable, "if you like books and coffee so much, why don't you work in a bookstore? Seems like a better fit, and you'd be qualified. You were even asking me about it last week."

"I thought about that."

His eyebrows rose. "Then?"

"My mum would hate it," she said in a small voice. "She'd think it isn't enough."

"Why not?" he asked. Beneath his frown, she could see the tiniest bit of offense; he worked in a shop full-time, after all.

"Because she wants me to do more," she said, paying special attention to the blue corduroy ridges of the pillow. "It's different for you. You'll take over the shop one day. But she'll think I'm being lazy in a bookstore instead of changing the world or helping people or something."

His expression softened. "I think you might enjoy it."

"There's one opening at the bookshop in Hogsmeade, but I didn't apply."

"That's far," he said, then shook his head. "Apply. You might as well."

"I dunno."

"You would be surprised how working in a shop can be challenging," he said thoughtfully. "You could coast by and do the bare minimum, but there's a lot more that goes into it. All the owners are looking for someone who cares enough to start managing, helping with the orders, all of that."

"So, you don't think it's an awful idea?" she asked timidly.

"It doesn't matter what I think."

"It does matter."

"It doesn't," he insisted. "You should do what you would like to do. But no, I don't think it's an awful idea at all."

She nodded, then groaned and put her head in her hands. "I can't believe it's been two weeks and I haven't found another job."

"I think it takes longer than that," he pointed out.

"Tomorrow's my last day of work."

He nudged her knee with the back of his hand. "Are you okay for rent?"

"Yeah," she said begrudgingly – she always saved every Knut she could. "At least for a few months."

"What are you worried about, then?" he asked, shrugging.

There was a brief pause.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to unload this on you."

"Don't mention it," Scorpius said, taking the pillow out of her hands and tossing it aside. "We're friends."

She felt a smile tugging on her lips.

"How're you feeling?" she asked, referring to the day before. He certainly looked much happier.

"I'm fine."

She poked him in the arm for his nonchalance. "Seriously."

"Seriously," he repeated, holding his hands up. "I'm fine. I moved on a long time ago."

Just then, a timer went off in the kitchen and he unfolded his long legs to hurry over and turn it off. When Rose followed him, she could see him stirring something at the stove, peering at it intently.

She wondered that perhaps it was just the way he was? He had a job he cared about, knew how to cook, could keep his flat tidy and was clearly intelligent. Or maybe it was the way he held himself – the quiet confidence, his assured nature. Something about it made Rose shrink into herself, just a little bit.

It was hard not to admire him.

She stood back, lingering, but he didn't notice her hesitance. "We're making something healthy for you. Kind of."

"What do you mean?" she asked, feeling warmed that he'd taken her goal into consideration.

"We're making pizza," he said, "but it's kind of healthy. I'm using whole wheat flour and lots of vegetables." He gestured down, waving her over. "This is the sauce."

"From scratch?" she asked, approaching the stove. A bright red tomatoey sauce bubbled and popped in the steel pot – this was definitely what she'd smelled earlier. "How did you do that?"

"It's not hard," he said, still stirring. "If you have the right ingredients, it's really all about letting it simmer for a while."

"The right ingredients?"

"Yeah, I get them from this marketplace. They have to be fresh, otherwise it doesn't turn out so great."

"I use sauce from a jar," she said playfully, bumping her shoulder with his. "You know Scorpius, I love food, but _you_ are a food snob."

He shrugged, barely able to hide his smile.

Rose reached over him to take the wooden spoon from his hand. She swirled it around before lifting it out, swiping her finger across and popping it back in her mouth. She hadn't meant to tease him, but noticed as his eyes drew to her lips.

"It tastes really good," she said, trying not to laugh.

He tipped her chin up and kissed her, coaxing her mouth open, tongue languid against hers. She wasn't sure if he was tasting her or the sauce, but she found herself dragging him by his collar, bringing him closer.

He broke off, almost regretfully. "It does taste good."

"You couldn't taste it at all, could you?"

"Nope." He smirked, and she couldn't help but laugh. She drew him back in again for another kiss. His hands held her jaw firmly as she reached up on her toes, but then he was pulling away far too soon for her liking.

"I'm trying to teach you how to cook," he protested.

"You started it," she said playfully. He was unwavering in his expression, so she let him go and smoothed out his collar. "Okay, Scorpius. Impart all your cooking wisdom to me."

He began by handing her a bowl of flour and a measuring cup of bubbly beige mixture of what she assumed was yeast. "Start by making the dough."

She hesitantly took the materials. "I don't know how."

"You've never made any dough before?"

"I used to live off takeout, okay?" she said, putting them down on the counter. "Store-bought dough isn't that bad."

Scorpius crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter. "Okay. Start by mixing those together and adding more water slowly."

"You're not going to help?"

"Nope."

She could feel his eyes on her as she struggled in the beginning, mixing the watery yeast with the flour until it came together. It was sticky as she kneaded it, and clumps of flour were getting stuck on her hands.

"Is this supposed to happen?" she asked.

"Kind of." He stood behind her and reached over her shoulder to grab a bottle of oil that was in front of her. "Use some of this."

He poured some of it in the bowl over her hands and the oddly shaped dough. She could feel his back to hers as he put the oil down and she continued to knead, the flour coming off her hands and forming together. In the next moment, she felt her hair move off her neck and his lips on her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she asked, amused.

"Nothing." He kissed her shoulder again. "Keep going."

She laughed. "You're distracting me, you know."

"Fine, fine," he said, moving away and going back to watching her. "You're almost done."

Scorpius instructed her to set the finished dough aside, letting it rise as they prepared the toppings. He went about cooling down the finished sauce as Rose floated a bunch of vegetables from his fridge to the counter.

"Why don't you use magic in the kitchen?" she asked as he manually retrieved a couple of knives and cutting boards.

"Sometimes I do," he said, putting them down in front of her, "but not usually. It's sort of cathartic to do things by hand."

She considered that thoughtfully as she picked up several mushrooms, a bell pepper and an onion. "That's very true."

He handed her a colander. "Wash them."

She ran the tap over the vegetables. "I think I'll still probably do the dishes by magic, though."

"Oh, of course," he agreed immediately. "I'm not a masochist."

She snorted.

Rose dumped the vegetables onto her cutting board and began chopping. It made her a little self-conscious that Scorpius was watching her cook, but not in the way her mum would make her feel when she tried to teach her. She had the sense that he wouldn't really judge her for every single movement.

He tugged on the belt of her dress to get her attention. "That's way too big."

"What?"

"The pieces are too big," he said, picking up a roughly cut mushroom. "It's going to be a pain to eat."

"I've got a big mouth," she said defensively, making him laugh.

"I'm sure you do," he said, tugging on her belt again, shifting her closer.

She blushed.

He dropped the mushroom back on the board. "Cut them smaller."

"Okay, okay," she said, clumsily cutting the piece into quarters. "Better?"

"It'll do."

"You're so picky," she said, feeling her brows furrowing as she concentrated on the chopping.

Scorpius just continued watching her, shaking his head. He was quite straightforward in a way Rose wasn't used to. When he was in the kitchen, he was almost demanding.

It was kind of hot.

After Rose finished chopping the vegetables into tiny pieces, he retrieved a block of mozzarella cheese from his fridge and a cheese grater from a drawer. "I'm assuming you know how to do this part."

"Yes," she said, taking them and sticking her tongue out at him.

He pushed the other cutting board in front of her and grabbed a rolling pin. His side pressed against hers as he worked at the counter beside her. "This part is difficult, so you can just watch."

She grated the cheese as she watched him roll out the pizza dough into a large circle. The dough would spring back as he worked, and she was glad she was just observing.

"Hey," he snapped as he caught her sneaking a piece of cheese. "Stop that."

"I'm hungry," she said, grinning at him as she ate another.

"You're ridiculous."

She elbowed him in the side, making him laugh.

Scorpius showed Rose how to flip the dough onto a pizza tray, which made her glad he didn't make her do that either, because she was definitely going to mess that up. He also showed her bake it a little bit _before_ putting the sauce and toppings, which explained a lot of why her adventures in making pizza with store-bought dough always went wrong.

After the dough had come out of the oven again, he let her spread the sauce onto it with a spoon. After a brief argument on what went first, the cheese or the vegetables, she was putting on the rest of the toppings. Scorpius put an array of herbs that all looked like crushed green leaves to her.

"It looks really good," she said as he put the pizza in the oven and set the timer on the stove, "though I kind of wish we could've put pepperoni."

"I thought you wanted to be _healthy_ ," he said, grimacing at the thought.

"Not today," she admitted sheepishly. "Though I suppose I shouldn't stress-eat. It's not pretty."

He pulled at her belt to bring her closer. "I wouldn't agree with that."

"Hmm." Her front met his, and she decided he'd teased her enough.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she started undoing his shirt buttons.

"Nothing," she said innocently.

"We're cooking," he reminded her with a grin, but not stopping her. "I thought you didn't want any distractions."

"I didn't say that."

"I recall you said –" But then she was on her toes and kissing him, effectively shutting him up.

His shirt came off a minute later, her dress was riding up and before she knew it, her back was against the wall and he was kissing below her ear, making her tremble. Her hands were undoing his belt and his trousers, almost of their own accord; she didn't know what it was with Scorpius that made her act like this, or why she wanted him so urgently.

His hands bunched her dress around her waist as his mouth covered hers, lips so insistent her brain blanked for a second. His fingers lingered on her sides, and when he ran them down her hips to her inner thighs, skipping where she wanted them, she moaned in protest. Scorpius' lips smiled against hers.

"I like this," he whispered, and she opened her eyes to see him looking down. She'd opted for sexier black panties that day, just in case.

"Good," she said, grinning.

He kissed down her jaw, slipping his hands under the lacy material, dragging it down her legs before gripping her arse tightly. She met his hips with hers, too many layers between them. Her head fell back on the wall as he sucked on her skin, and she swore her heart rate went skyrocketing from the scrape of his teeth.

"Fuck," she muttered. His hand had reached around and in between her legs, touching her gently, making her back arch against the wall.

"Rose," Scorpius mumbled against her neck, unable to hold her still in that position. "Tell me what you like."

But she couldn't speak. Any words she had to describe died at her lips immediately. Possibly because what he was doing felt so good already, and possibly because no one had ever asked.

Instead, she ducked her head to capture his lips with hers, drawing them away from her skin. She had pushed his pants down and could feel how hard he was already. He groaned when she took him in her hand.

"Bed?" Scorpius mumbled against her lips, attempting to shimmy her dress upwards. She tugged it back down and hitched her legs around him instead, and he caught them around her thighs.

"Here," she panted, grinding against him.

"Are you sure?" he asked, but made no effort to move; he was obviously into the idea.

"Live a little, will you?" she teased. He chuckled and kissed her eagerly, knocking his glasses a little crooked.

It took him a second in the unfamiliar position to push inside her and find a rhythm, but soon he was grasping her arse to pull her closer, deeper. Rose has always imagined fucking against the wall, but she hadn't realized how much the excitement would feed into the pleasure.

He took his time at first, long and deliberate. The angle was so directly stimulating that Rose was panting against his mouth as his thrusts came faster. She broke off and pressed her lips to his shoulder as he reached in between them, albeit a little frantically, helping her along.

It was so good. Almost too good.

She was thankful he was holding her as she came, gasping into his skin. He groaned at the feeling and thrusted harder, finishing only a few minutes later. As he caught his breath, he chuckled into her neck.

"What?" she asked, a little self-consciously.

"Nothing," he said, lips tickling her throat. "I've never done it like that before."

She laughed quietly. "Me neither."

"Oh." He kissed her neck, a quick smile against her skin.

The oven timer was going off and he pulled away. "Can I use your loo?" she asked, feet coming to the floor.

"Sure," he said, bending down to gather his clothes from the floor and getting dressed again. And that's when she saw it, just for a moment before he shrugged his shirt back on, in simple elegant script etched in black ink on Scorpius' shoulder:

' _Malfoy'_.

* * *

"Rose. Wake up already."

Rose's eyelids were unbearably heavy as she blinked her eyes open. She could sense she wasn't in her own flat and realized she was still at Scorpius', for some reason. She was curled up on the couch, a blanket over top of her and she felt unbelievably warm and comfortable.

He was still a little blurry to her sleepy eyes, but Scorpius was sitting at the end of the couch, hand on her blanket-covered leg, shaking her gently. "Rose, come on. It's eight."

She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "What happened?"

"You kind of passed out after dinner," he said, and when she looked at him properly, it didn't seem as though he minded. His hair was wet, like he'd just taken a shower. "I've been trying to wake you up for an hour, but you told me, 'Only monsters wake up before eight in the morning _.'_ "

Rose let out a breathy chuckle.

She recalled the night before. The sex was fun, of course, but she was actually learning a lot from him. She remembered that they were eating their excellent pizza and talking about something or another when she felt the exhaustion set in. She must've fallen asleep mid-sentence.

But somehow, she didn't feel that embarrassed as she normally would.

"I thought you might need to get ready before work, though," he said, interrupting her thoughts when she hadn't answered.

She sighed and screwed her eyes shut again, tucking her legs tighter. "I don't want to go to work."

"Does anyone?"

"It's my last day." She pulled the blanket up and covered her head. "I'm a mess."

He was quiet for a moment. "You're not a mess, Rose. You're just a little lost."

She pulled the blanket down her face and gave him a weak smile. She thought about how Albus would probably just agree that she was indeed a mess, and needed to try harder. Or Roxanne, who would never say anything like that, but she probably wouldn't disagree, either.

Then she thought about the large envelope of "good" job applications her mother had given her and how they were still sitting on her kitchen counter, where she'd left it all week. The easy way out.

 _No_. She was better than that. She could figure this out on her own.

"Okay," she said quietly, throwing the blanket off decisively and swinging her legs off the edge of the couch. "I can do this."

Her dress fell in place around her legs as she got up, wrinkly from sleeping in it all night. Scorpius stood up as she straightened her clothing, watching her but not saying anything. She raised her eyebrows at him. "I can do this, right?"

"Yeah," he said without hesitation. "No question."

She turned to hug him, slipping her arms around his middle and pressing her forehead into his chest. He was clearly not used to hugs, because it took him a moment to react and wrap his arms around her.

"Thanks," she said, pulling away. "Maybe I'll see you this weekend."

"I'm working this weekend." He smiled at her. "Have a good day, Rose."

"You too," she told him before she hurried back to her apartment. What she needed was a hot shower, some coffee and her favourite dress. If she had those three things, she could get through the next twenty-four hours.

And maybe she could use some of that Gryffindor courage, too. Wherever it was hiding inside of her.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this cute little fluffy chapter :) Anyone surprised by Scorpius' tattoo?

Next is the sleepover with Rose's friends, and Roxanne has a _lot_ to say…

Have a good weekend!


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

As it turned out, Rose hadn't gotten her shit together in two weeks.

But overall, the last day at the job wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She had to explain her office's system to the now department-wise receptionist, who seemed overwhelmed at the increase of work. Her office mates brought a cake at lunch for her and her boss hugged her at the end of the day, saying she'd miss Rose. She didn't really have much to pack from her desk, so she exited the office with her robe hanging around her arm and her bag stuffed with a couple of knick-knacks.

And that was it. She was officially unemployed.

After work, the neighbour's cat ran out the door when she opened it, disappearing into the stairwell again. Rose tidied up her flat and lugged out her sleeping back from her closet, setting it up on her living room floor with a grunt. It occurred to her that she might want a carpet, along with the curtains she was thinking of. Maybe when she found a job?

Roxanne arrived early, falling out of Rose's fireplace gracefully; she was definitely used to flooring more than Rose. Before they even said hello, they both found themselves both saying the same words to each other immediately:

"You have to tell me everything!"

"You're sleeping with _Malfoy_?" Roxanne said before Rose could get another word in, sinking down onto her couch and putting aside the bags she was holding. "How the hell do you even know him? Did you know each other at Hogwarts?"

Rose sat beside her. "No, nothing like that. He lives in this building."

"And…"

"We became friends," she said, folding her legs underneath her, "and then I may have snogged him a couple of times, and it looks like he's into it."

"He's into _you_ ," Roxanne said pointedly.

"No, he's not. We're just friends."

"But I could tell. On the beach," Roxanne began, even when Rose shook her head. "No, really, Rose. He might say that you're friends, but I saw him. He definitely was looking at you in a not-so-friendly way."

Rose rolled her eyes. "He's not into me, okay? I'm pretty sure he's still hung up on his ex."

"His ex?"

"Annika Nott."

"Oh, right," Roxanne said, remembering with a snap of her fingers. "They were together forever – Merlin, it had to be at least since sixth year –"

"Sixth year?!" Rose sputtered, eyes wide. That means they'd been together nearly five years. "Holy shit."

"– and now she just got engaged, I read it in the paper," Roxanne finished.

"I know they broke up a few years ago," Rose contemplated. Why couldn't she remember Scorpius and Annika at all in school? She'd supposed barely even noticed Scorpius back then. "I dunno. It might be weird, but he's definitely still hung up on her for some reason or another, even after three years."

Roxanne looked at her strangely. "Well, obviously he might be."

"What do you mean?"

"It was in the paper," she repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you see it?"

"No." Rose suddenly felt anxious. "Why, what was in it?"

"Think, why would her engagement even be in the paper?"

"I dunno," Rose, replied. The Notts were a fairly famous family, but nowhere close to the Malfoys. Well, they were _infamous_ , anyway. "I never really thought about it…"

Roxanne paused.

"They were married _,_ Rose," she said, looking at her closely. "It wasn't just this teenage relationship for them. Malfoy and Nott got divorced three years ago."

Rose's stomach bottomed out.

What.

The _fuck._

"What – why wouldn't he tell me that?" she asked, mostly thinking to herself. They were friends, weren't they? But he hadn't even any indication whatsoever that Annika was anything more than an old girlfriend.

"It's not like you've known him for very long."

"I know, but…" She shook her head. "He got really snappy with me when I tried to look in the paper. He didn't want me to read it for some reason."

"I guess it makes sense why he didn't want you to see it," Roxanne considered thoughtfully. "Maybe he thought you'd judge him."

"I wouldn't!" Rose protested, dismayed.

" _I_ know that," Roxanne assured, "but does he?"

Rose bit her lip. "I think so."

"Or maybe he thought you'd jump to conclusions," she suggested, shrugging.

"I – you think he's sleeping with me to get over his ex?" Rose said, a twinge of annoyance flaring in her.

"Would you blame him?"

"No," Rose said, struggling for words, "but – I dunno."

Roxanne waited a moment, but Rose didn't know what else to say. Or what she wanted to say.

"This is all really unlike you," Roxanne said finally, looking concerned. "Not that there's anything wrong with casual sex, but you've always been the romantic one, you know? Way more than me. You've been planning your wedding since you were nine."

"Things change," Rose said simply, not wanting to think about it.

"You've got to let this whole thing with Travis go," she said. "I know it's only been a year. But just because he was an idiot, that doesn't mean all men are like him."

"I know that," Rose muttered bitterly, "just all the men _I've_ dated."

"And you've got to stop letting them steamroll you," she added sternly. "You have the worst case of rose-coloured glasses I've ever seen in my life."

"Oi!"

"And Malfoy?" Roxanne asked. "He's a Slytherin. They're literally known for being kind of… well, mean? Untrustworthy?"

She felt another stab of annoyance. "He's not like that."

Roxanne stared at Rose. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

"It's not like we haven't heard all the rumours about the Malfoys," she said carefully.

"They're not true," Rose insisted. "I swear. I mean, maybe that stuff in the past is true, and he can be kind of private. But he's not vindictive like that."

"You're going to keep sleeping with him, then?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Because you're going to fall for him," Roxanne stated, like it was obvious. "That's what you always do."

"That's not true," she said immediately. "It's different with him. I mean, obviously I'm attracted to him, but it's not like how it was before. I don't want to hold hands or go on dates or any of that stuff."

Roxanne looked at her incredulously.

"So you're telling me you don't have _any_ feelings for Malfoy," Roxanne pressed, and Rose was sure that Roxanne was enjoying this way more than she let on. "None at all?"

"No!" Rose said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Roxanne. "No. Nothing. We're just friends. And we're dropping the subject now."

Roxanne looked indignant. "We are _not_ –"

Just then, the fireplace suddenly burned green and Skye appeared, smoothing down her joggers as she stepped into the room. She had a smile on her face that faded slightly as she looked between them, still holding her bags.

"Hey!" Skye greeted cautiously, sensing the tension. "What are we talking about?"

Rose grinned at Roxanne, with a look that clearly said, _Ha-ha, guess we can't talk about this anymore!_

But Roxanne blurted out, "Rose is sleeping with someone, no strings attached."

Rose's jaw dropped.

"No fucking way," Skye said, tossing her bags into the corner and rounding on Rose. "Who?"

"No one," Rose said, scowling at Roxanne.

"You're fucking kidding me!" Skye said, sitting down next to Roxanne. "Do you remember how much shit you used to give me because I didn't want to be Daniel Carter's girlfriend in fourth year?"

"Oh," Rose said, screwing her eyes shut. It was a long time ago – ten years, actually – but Skye had been snogging Daniel for a while, and she'd definitely judged Skye for not making it official. "I'm sorry. Fourth-year Rose was a self-righteous bitch."

"That's true," Skye nodded, grinning. "Is it Charlotte's cousin?"

"Nathan?" Rose said with a jolt. "No, of course not."

"I just assumed, because he was flirting with you at dinner the other day," Skye said. "Not that I'd blame you, Rose. He's fucking hot."

Rose laughed. "No, it's not him."

"I'll give it time," she joked. "Wait, you're really not going to tell me who it is?"

Rose hesitated. She didn't mind that Roxanne knew; she'd grown up with her, and they were practically sisters. But she and Skye had really only gotten along towards the end of Hogwarts, only putting up with each other because of Quidditch, and the fact that they were both friends with Roxanne. But she really did love Skye.

But did she want to tell her? It wasn't as though she particularly wanted to hide it from her. But Rose wasn't sure if Scorpius would mind, and she had a feeling he wouldn't want anyone to know; he was a reserved sort of person.

"No one knows." Rose found herself mumbling the lie easily.

A silence fell between the three women.

"Well," Skye asked after a moment, "is the sex good?"

Rose turned scarlet.

"What did you say before?" Roxy said, nudging her playfully. "I think it was, 'The best you've ever had'?"

The fireplace roared with green fire as she said that, and out came Ella. She coughed as she got in, standing in front of the three girls, also in her pyjamas, pink and frilly. "Hey, what's up?"

"Rose has got herself a fuck buddy," Skye said cheerfully.

Rose put her face in her hands. " _Skye._ "

"Ooh, who?" Ella asked, dropping her overnight bag and sleeping bag on the floor. She undid the ties and it rolled open, and she dropped onto it. "Is it Nathan?"

"Apparently not," Skye said, poking Rose playfully on the shoulder. "But it must be good, because she's redder than a tomato."

Charlotte Flooed in as Ella squealed. She looked at everyone in bewilderment; Rose was still hiding behind her hands, Roxanne and Skye were laughing and Ella was giddy with excitement. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Rose has a special friend," Ella shared as Charlotte put her bags down next to her, "with _benefits_.And it's not Nathan."

"This isn't happening," Rose moaned, voice muffled from her fingers.

"We're just living vicariously through you," Ella assured Rose, putting a hand to her knee. "We're all in long-term relationships, remember?"

"This is the _worst_."

"That explains a lot," Charlotte said, reaching over to Rose and pressing her hair over her shoulder. "Did you know you have a giant hickey?"

" _What_?" Rose exclaimed, looking down. The girls peered at her as she found the dark red bruise on her collarbone. Thankfully, it was impossible to notice with her thick red hair, but Rose felt herself flush all the same. She quickly hid it with her hair again.

There was a brief silence.

"I knew you were in a better mood than usual," Skye said smugly. "Rose is getting _laid_."

They all laughed. Rose gave a grudging smile.

At least they weren't talking about her being unemployed, right?

* * *

"Wait, so you need rules for friends with benefits," Charlotte said as they all began to roll out their sleeping bags and get set up. "I saw this in a movie."

"Rules?" Rose asked, heading towards the kitchen. She'd gotten multiple bags of frozen chips and cheese-stuffed flaky pastries earlier that week and took them out of the freezer. One of Rose's guilty pleasures.

"Yes!" Ella agreed. "I saw this one too. I think the first one is that you have to choose someone you're not going to fall for."

"Check," Rose said, throwing the frozen goodies onto a baking tray.

"That's a good one," Skye agreed, sitting cross-legged on her sleeping bag. "Another one is that you can't cuddle with someone after sex. That's basically a relationship."

"Really?" Roxanne said, looking pained. "That's the best part."

Charlotte laughed. "Girl, if that's the best part, your man needs some pointers."

"He does just _fine_ , thank you!"

"LA LA LA I can't hear you!" Rose said loudly, putting her hands over her ears. Even though she was in the kitchen, it was basically open to the living room and she could hear everything quite clearly. And there was no world in which she wanted to hear about her cousin's sex life.

"Yeah, no cuddling," Skye reiterated, shrugging. "It's a whole thing. Too much intimacy."

"As if sex isn't intimate enough?" Rose joked, putting the tray into the oven and turning it on. "Anyway, we've never done that."

"Oh, don't sleep over," Charlotte added, snapping her fingers. "That's another one."

"Crap." All four heads turned to Rose, still standing in the kitchen. "I did that one."

"You slept over but didn't cuddle?" Roxanne asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I was sleepy, okay?" Rose said as she came back in the room and plopped down onto her couch. She watched as they all settled onto their sleeping bags. "What else?"

"Don't go on dates," Roxy suggested. "I didn't see the movie, but that seems like a given."

"Yeah, that's true," Rose said. She had no interest in anything romantic with Scorpius. "Got that covered."

"Limit conversation," Charlotte chimed in. "You know, don't talk about the personal stuff. It should be strictly sex."

Rose felt her face get hot. "Wait. What if we're friends?"

The room suddenly seemed very quiet.

It took a moment of confusion for Charlotte to answer. "What do you mean?"

"Like I'm actually friends with him," Rose explained, a sinking feeling in her chest as her friends exchanged glances with each other. "We don't go on dates, but we hang out. We talk about stuff."

Roxy looked even more alarmed than before. "Rose. Are you sure you want to –"

"Okay, let's lay off," Charlotte said, shooting Rose a smile; she seemed to sense Rose's discomfort. "She's a big girl. She can make her own decisions."

"Yes, I brought popcorn!" Ella said, rooting through her bag and brandishing the packets dramatically. "This is perfect, since we need to hear about Roxanne and Noah's proposal!"

"Yes, we have to celebrate!" Rose agreed, standing up. "I've got the snacks and the booze, and I believe Charlotte has the nail polish."

"You know I do," she said excitedly, pulling a rather large box out from her bag.

Ten minutes later, they were seated around their sleeping bags, plates full of food, wine glasses full and considering the nail polish colours. Rose had gone with a shiny maroon-burgundy colour, which always reminded her of her dad, since he hated maroon so much. Ella had gone with her usual pink, Skye went with clear nail polish – "It was just going to chip off during practice," she defended – and Roxanne wanted her signature bold red. And Charlotte, of course, was doing some sort of multi-colour design with paisley patterns.

Roxanne had just begun painting her fingernails when she spoke. "So, you all know Noah took me for a weekend getaway…"

Ella squealed, and they all laughed.

"I'd been freaking out a bit the whole week," Roxanne continued, still chuckling. "He was acting strange, you know?"

"You even thought he was going to call it off," Rose piped up, rolling her eyes at the absurdity.

"It's true," Roxy confirmed to the surprised faces of Ella, Skye and Charlotte. "But then we met up on Friday evening and he gave me the Portkey receipt. Saturday morning, we left for the beach, and he rented the cutest little yacht for the weekend."

"I didn't know he could sail," Skye said with interest, looking up from her nails.

"He can't," she replied, laughing. "We just boated close to shore. Spent some time reading and swimming, explored the restaurants and the boardwalk." She blushed. "Spent a lot of time in bed."

They laughed and whooped.

"So, how'd he pop the question?" Charlotte asked eagerly.

"It was Sunday evening, actually," Roxanne said. "We'd just returned the boat and were having dinner at one of the restaurants on the beach. We were on the patio, underneath the fairy lights, the sun was setting and I got distracted by the view. Then I looked back, and Noah was on one knee."

No one was exactly sure who started it, but there was suddenly a lot of squealing in the room.

"He did his little speech," she continued after they'd quieted down a little. "He was so nervous, it was adorable. I don't think I even let him finish, I just jumped up and said yes."

Rose was so happy for Roxanne that her heart felt like it was bursting, and she had to look down at the nail she was painting to blink away the tears in her eyes.

"I'm so happy for you," Ella squealed. "I can't wait for your wedding. Have you set a date yet?"

"Merlin, no," Roxy said with a nervous laugh. "We'll figure that out once I get settled in my job, I think."

"It's good to wait," Charlotte advised, sighing. "Also, get a wedding planner if you can. I thought it would be okay to plan it while working, because it's freelance, but I'm dying out here."

"Are you okay?" Rose asked. "Albus mentioned you were a little stressed."

"Understatement." Charlotte closed one of the nail polishes carefully so as to not ruin her nails. "He forced me to take the day off today and made me promise not to talk about the wedding."

Hearing this made Rose miss Albus even more. Even though she'd had lunch with him that week, she felt like he'd left a gaping hole in her life. She was used to seeing him every day, and now… nothing.

"You can talk about the wedding if you want," Ella said sympathetically. Behind her, Skye grimaced.

"No, no," Charlotte said, waving a hand. "It's good for me. I can't really control what will go wrong, you know? I need to take things as they come."

"That's very true," Rose said thoughtfully.

They talked for a long time, eating junk food, admiring each other's nails and drinking copious amounts of wine. Rose couldn't remember the last time they'd just gathered and enjoyed each other's company without their partners. There was something nice about that, even if it was just for a little while.

It was a mark of their age that they started to feel sleepy around midnight, especially after a long week of work. Rose escaped to the kitchen to clean the dirty dishes as the rest of the girls crowded her little bathroom to get ready for bed. She appreciated a little bit of the quiet before sleeping.

"Hey." She felt Roxanne sidle up beside her as she magicked the sponge to scrub the plates. "I love your new place. You already seem at home here." Rose smiled.

Roxanne was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry, Rose."

"For what?" she asked.

"I shouldn't have told everyone about your… you know." Roxanne crossed her arms and leaned her back on the counter, watching Rose float the clean plates to a drying rack. "That was shitty of me. It just sort of happened."

"Oh, don't worry, Roxy," Rose said, nudging her playfully, shoulder-to-shoulder. "I don't mind that they know. We always tell each other everything. I just don't want them to know who it is."

"How come?"

"He probably wouldn't want everyone knowing." Rose thought about how he'd reacted to her reading a public newspaper. "He's my friend. I wouldn't want to hurt him."

"Friend, huh?" Roxanne gave Rose a smile. "Well, I'm glad he's not what everyone says he is."

"Yeah." Rose felt a pang of sadness for him. "Do people really hate him that much?"

"Not so much _him_ , but his family's reputation..." Roxanne exhaled loudly. "I dunno how you didn't notice. People talk."

"I never listen to gossip," Rose admitted.

"You're too nice." Roxy side-eyed her. "I know you said he's all right. But don't let him push you around, okay?"

"Uh, yeah." Rose shrugged, confused. "Okay."

"Anyway," Roxanne said as Rose finished up the last dish, "are you free sometime this weekend?"

"Of course," Rose said, a slight painful reminder she was free for the foreseeable future, let alone just that weekend. "What did you have in mind?"

She dropped her voice considerably. "I'm going house shopping, and Noah's away for work again. I know it's asking for some of your weekend, but maybe it could be fun?"

Rose threw her arms around her cousin, taking her by surprise. "Roxy, I would be _so_ happy to go house shopping with you. Are you thinking of Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah," she said with a relieved chuckle. "What do you think?"

"You're going to be far," Rose acknowledged as she released Roxanne, "but at least Hogsmeade is easier to get to than Hogwarts."

"I thought about just living in the school," Roxy confessed, "but I think I want my own space. And Noah wants to cut back on the travelling, so it would be nice if we had some privacy instead of crashing at our parents' homes."

Rose shook her head in amusement. "You're such an adult now."

"You take that back!" Roxanne protested, but she was laughing. "I'm not going to lie. I'm really excited."

"It's the next step of your life," Rose said, nodding. "You're getting married, getting a house together… enjoy it, Roxy. Before you want to pop out a few kids."

" _Rose_ ," Roxanne moaned as Rose laughed at her.

They were all ready for bed by the time it was nearing one in the morning, snuggling into their sleeping bags and yawning. She heard Ella giggling for a while – she could never handle her wine – and Charlotte was so exhausted, she ended up falling asleep first. Skye was snoring soon after. Rose caught Roxanne admiring her engagement ring with a contented smile on her face.

Rose couldn't help thinking about what the newspaper might have said about Annika Nott's engagement, and why Scorpius didn't want her to know about it. It wasn't as though he was married anymore, he wasn't cheating… so, what was the problem?

And the way he'd always been so adamant against a relationship now made a little more sense. Especially since he was still friends with Nott; she knew for sure he was still hung up on his ex, no matter that he'd insisted otherwise. And at least a little convinced that his intentions with Rose weren't so innocent.

As she drifted off, she was just more unnerved by the fact that he didn't trust her.

* * *

A/N: Hello… a little twist for you :) Did anyone guess about Scorpius being married? Only one person told me in a review they suspected Scorpius got jilted at the alter, so I am curious! Also, Roxanne finally talked to Rose :)

Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know your thoughts.

Next: an impromptu date.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Even though her friends had slept through most of the morning, Rose definitely needed to go on a run. The week had been filled with junk food, and while she loved it, it wasn't doing her body any favours.

Skye, being the most athletic one of the group and a Beater on the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team, braved the slight hangover and decided to run with Rose. She practically brought workout gear everywhere, given that practices were held somewhat haphazardly. But Skye ran quickly and consistently, whereas Rose was consistent, but not fast at all.

Predictably, Rose couldn't keep up.

"Time to walk?" Skye asked as Rose slowed her jogging so much that nearby walkers were passing her.

"No, no," she said determinedly. "I'm good. I can't stop or I'll walk the rest of the way."

"Sure," Skye replied, chuckling as she matched Rose's pace. "I'm actually impressed. Most people give up after two weeks."

"It's been a dreadful couple of weeks," Rose admitted breathlessly.

"What's your goal?"

"I'm thinking five kilometres, maybe in thirty minutes?"

"That's completely doable," Skye said, nodding. "Ella and I used to go running all the time, before she became the bridezilla's bitch while planning the wedding."

Rose snorted; Skye had her own way of expressing love.

"What are you up to this weekend?"

"Nothing," Skye replied happily. "Just a glorious day off until my game on Sunday. How about you? Still on the job hunt?"

"Yeah," Rose said gloomily, looking down at her black running shoes hitting the pavement. "Nothing much else. My mum's been owling like mad, though. I'm expecting a Howler any day now."

Skye patted her back sympathetically, and Rose cringed as her shirt clung to her sweaty spine. "Don't let her get you down, okay?"

"I know. I'm thinking of seeing my dad today, maybe he can help."

"Your dad's a riot."

"Yeah." She let out a puff of breath before looking forwards determinedly and picking up speed again.

They kept running, ducking through crowds and cars and alleyways to keep up the pace. Rose always felt silly for being one of those runners who jogged on the spot while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. She appreciated that she and Skye kept an easy, comfortable silence while running. It helped her concentrate on her burning calves.

They ran for another fifteen minutes before Skye said, "I think we're nearing the four kilmotre mark."

Rose groaned. "We should've just run on the trails in the park. That would make this more manageable."

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty, eh?"

"How long has it been?"

"Thirty minutes."

"Fuck," Rosecursed, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "I swear I'm already dying. How am I going to fit in another kilometre in that time?"

"Time turner?" Skye joked, clearly not caring they were on a street full of Muggles. "Oh, I might also recommend some useful potions…"

"Not useful," Rose ground out. Those _useful_ potions were banned by athletes for a reason.

She'd just taken her eyes off the road in front of her for a moment to scowl at Skye, who was definitely laughing at her again, and ran straight into somebody coming out of a shop. Rose fell backwards on her arse, hard on the uneven cobblestone, immediately swearing in pain.

"Shit!" She blinked up to see Nathan – _of course_ – looking at her wide eyed, arms outstretched. "Shit, are you okay?"

"Um, yeah," she said, sitting up and gingerly brushing off her hands. She was suddenly very aware of how sweaty and gross she felt and how her hair was tied back and frizzy. Nathan was dressed more casually than the other day, but he still looked impeccable. She could see the outline of his pecs through his t-shirt.

He held out a hand and helped her up, and she was thankful that at least her hands weren't sweaty. "I'm sorry, I really didn't see you."

"Don't worry, I wasn't looking where I was going," Rose admitted. Skye was not-so-subtly looking between the two of them in interest, distracting her. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just looking for a gift for Charlotte's bridal shower," he said sheepishly, putting his hands in his pockets. "I left it rather last minute, but I honestly don't have a clue what I could give her."

"Me neither, actually…" Rose had completely forgotten about the bridal shower gifts with everything going. She'd gotten Albus and Charlotte a nice set of kitchenware for the wedding, but not much else. She looked to Skye. "What are you giving her?"

"Fuck if I know," Skye replied, rolling her eyes. "I'll probably find it an hour before."

This made Nathan laugh.

"Well, I could use the help," he said earnestly. "Are you up for helping a poor bloke out? I swear this whole gift-giving thing is utter nonsense."

"I'm sure Rose would love to help you out," Skye volunteered, keeping a carefully straight face. Rose's eyes widened.

Nathan turned to her. "If you're not busy, Rose?"

"We were just about done our run, anyway," Skye put in unhelpfully. "Rose, you said you didn't have any plans this weekend, did you?"

"I still need to shower," Rose said, trying to communicate with Skye, but she was clearly enjoying putting Rose on the spot.

"What do you say I meet you after?" Nathan asked kindly. "We could look around, grab some lunch, perhaps?"

Rose's heart skipped a beat – from Nathan's smile or pure terror, she had no idea – and she nodded politely. Inside, she felt like she was seething; this all sounded suspiciously like a date, and Skye was definitely pushing her into it.

"Great!" he said. "I'll be at the Starbucks across the street, yeah? Take your time, I'll grab an iced coffee."

"Great," Rose repeated, smiling back weakly. She watched as he checked for cars and jogged away to the coffee shop, giving a wave before popping inside. She waited until the door closed before smacking Skye on the arm.

"Oi!"

" _Skye_!" Rose protested, annoyed. "What the hell was that for?"

"It was entertaining," she replied, laughing. "Wait, aren't you fucking him? What's the big deal?"

"Of course not! I told you last night it wasn't him."

"Oh, I thought you were deflecting," Skye said, looking unconcerned. "Damn, Rose, if you're not fucking him, can I?"

"You're terrible," Rose complained, gently shoving a laughing Skye into the adjacent shop window. "The last thing I want to do is lead him on."

"It's not a big deal," she said, still chuckling. "Besides, you haven't been on a date in years. This isn't even a proper date, and you know it."

Rose started walking home, feeling her stomach knotting already. "I know. But I didn't want to date him."

"Why not?" Skye asked, following her. "He's fit as hell."

"That's kind of half the problem," Rose said reluctantly, not wanting to explain. "He's a pretty boy. Like _too_ pretty. They've always got this weird thing about them, you know? And his life is too damn perfect."

"This is a problem?" Skye asked, confused.

"He's just rebounding, anyway," Rose said as if she hadn't heard her.

"He doesn't seem to be concerned about any of that," Skye pointed out. "He's waiting for you to get ready. Plus, he even asked you out when you're all sweaty and disgusting."

"Who even does that?" Rose moaned. "This outfit doesn't do me any favours, either."

Skye nudged her shoulder against hers. "Those are terrible excuses."

Rose pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. "He goes to _Starbucks_."

"You are such a fucking snob when it comes to coffee," Skye said, shaking her head. "Look, you already agreed. You haven't been on a date in ages, right?"

Rose nodded. Travis had taken her on plenty of dates within their first year together, but she definitely couldn't remember another time he cared to invite her out if he wasn't trying to apologize.

"And this is definitely a low-key thing," Skye said, nudging her again to make Rose look at her. "No _pressure,_ right?"

"Right," Rose grumbled. Skye knew all-too-well of Rose's history of dealing with pressure. Namely, how she preferred not to deal with it at all.

"Good." Skye slung an arm across Rose's sweaty shoulders. "Let's get you into one of your pretty dresses and get Adonis over there to drool all over you. Let him inflate your ego a little bit."

Rose grumbled again.

This couldn't end well.

* * *

Nathan smiled at her when Rose came to Starbucks an hour later, fully-showered and dressed; he didn't seem to mind that she'd bumped into him, sweaty and all. In general, he seemed rather good-natured about the whole ordeal – excited, even.

Excitement wasn't exactly what she was feeling.

Flattered was definitely one, especially as he opened the door for her to the first shop. She was still cringing every time she saw that plastic iced coffee cup with that damn green siren on it, but at least he was somewhat of a gentleman.

"This seems like the right place," he said behind her as they stepped into the sweet air conditioning of a greeting card and gift shop. "First I tried this engraving shop, but they barely had anything Charlotte would like."

"I know she loves artsy stuff," Rose said as they approached an aisle of greeting cards relating to weddings and congratulations. "I got her a bunch of the art stuff she had listed on their registry."

"That's actually a great idea," Nathan replied, giving an encouraging smile, "especially since she'll have a little art studio in their new place, right?"

Rose frowned. "What new place?"

"Charlotte said they found a house and they're moving in mid-August, after the honeymoon…" He stopped at the look on Rose's face. "She didn't tell you?"

"No." But it didn't really bother her that they were moving – it made sense, actually – or even that Charlotte hadn't told her. She was much more hurt that Albus hadn't even thought to mention it. Not even once.

"I'm sure she'll tell you soon," he assured her. "It was sort of a last-minute thing, actually. They just found the place this week."

Rose swallowed and forced her attention back to the greeting cards. She still felt like she'd been punched in the gut.

"Have you always gotten along with Albus?" he asked as they flipped through more cards. "I think Charlotte and I bit each other's heads off when we were younger."

"Oh yeah," Rose said, picking up a card with a sketch of a pleasant-looking beach. "We were actually born in the same week."

"Really?" Nathan asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah." She thought back, smiling. "I mean, we've had our ups and downs, but we've always been like twins. Our families grew up together and everything."

"That's cute." He shook his head. "He's always saying you're the sister he never had, which makes his actual sister pretty mad."

Rose's laugh was a little hollow; for some reason, this just twisted the knife. "Yeah. He's always said that."

She ended up picking another card that was specific to the bride – the front said, ' _You're Getting Married?!'_ and had a drawing of two wine glasses clinking together – and watching as Nathan picked a card. He ended up with one that had a teddy bear on the front, which was cute.

As they moved towards the gifts section, Nathan fell into step beside her, brushing his arm against hers. "So, you're into running?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Rose said sheepishly as she stopped in front of a display of jewellery boxes and photo frames. "I just started two weeks ago. It's basically torture at each step."

He laughed. "Yeah, I think that sums it up quite nicely, actually. I've been hitting the gym for a few years, but I think that first month was the worst."

"Any pointers for a newbie like me?" she asked, picking up a silver heart-shaped picture frame encrusted in beautiful rhinestones.

"Hmm," he said contemplatively. "I'm not sure. I'm not really a runner. I sprint for about ten minutes but then I mostly lift."

"Yeah, I can see that," she blurted out.

He looked more than a little pleased.

"What do you think of this?" she said quickly, shoving the picture frame at him. "I could even get it engraved with their names or something."

"I like it," he said, inspecting it. "You think you might have a picture that fits?"

"I think they'll have it covered from their engagement photo shoot," Rose said, putting the frame back on the shelf so she could grab the packed box. "Well, that's me done."

"That was fast."

"I dunno why you're having so much trouble with this," she joked. "That took me less than ten minutes."

"You didn't even remember without me," he ribbed good-naturedly. "Who's really the worst cousin here?"

"Definitely not me."

"Or…" He tilted his head. "Maybe you just have an array of special talents. Seems like you might."

Rose blushed as she moved through the aisle to check out the display of teddy bears, decorative pillows and chocolate. He made a face.

"Kind of screams Valentine's Day," he pointed out.

"True, true." She turned her attention to a large table of gift baskets, which Nathan seemed immediately drawn towards.

He picked up the largest one and inspected it closely. "Looks like wine, his and her wine glasses, bubble bath shit, chocolate, face masks, a _towel_ for some reason…"

"Looks like a winner."

After Rose and Nathan paid, they headed down the street to get the picture frame engraved. While they waited for the engraving, her stomach growled noisily; she did go running that morning, after all.

"I think it's time for lunch," she said, embarrassed as she glared at her body, wishing it would quieten down. Especially in front of a very fit man who didn't need to draw his attention to her round belly.

"Yeah, I'm starving," he agreed, sipping up the last of his coffee. Rose wrinkled her nose at the sound of straw against the plastic.

"Where are you thinking?" she asked, trying to ignore it.

"I'm not falling for that trick," he said, tossing the cup in a nearby bin. "What kind of cuisines do you like?"

Rose crossed her arms. "I asked first."

"Ladies first," he insisted with a grin.

"Well," she thought aloud, "I've been eating a lot of rice and chicken with vegetables. That's supposed to be healthy, right?"

He brightened. "I know a place."

After grabbing the newly engraved gift, Rose followed Nathan through the streets to the restaurant, barely listening as he chatted on about something or another. She tried to keep calm; it wasn't a formal date. This didn't have to mean anything.

He was walking around with a giant gift basket, for crying out loud.

"Here we are," he said, gently taking her arm and slowing them to a grey-brick building with a closed-off patio. The windows were tinted darker. Nathan held the door open for her, but Rose was distracted by the menu.

"I – um," she stammered, balking at the prices. It wasn't quite fancy enough that they didn't bother to list the prices, but it was quite expensive nonetheless.

"Oh, I've got it," he said kindly. "Please."

"No, I couldn't do that," she refused, stepping away. Rose felt silly, but she never wanted to let a man pay for the first date. She didn't know him, and she didn't know what kind of expectations he would have just because of a meal. He didn't seem like that kind of person, but she wasn't sure.

"How about The Green Door?" he suggested, sensing her reluctance. She nodded in relief; she'd eaten at that particular salad place many times.

Ten minutes later, they sat down at the more familiar restaurant, gift bags underneath the table. After a waitress put down a couple glasses of water, Nathan sat back, relaxed, staring at her. "I didn't get to say this before, but you look amazing today."

"Thanks," Rose said, looking down at the menu so he wouldn't see her cheeks flush.

"Do you have any other plans for your weekend?" he asked, taking a sip from his glass.

"I'm probably going to visit my dad," she said. "He runs a joke shop on the weekends with my uncle."

"Wait, really?" he asked, sitting up. "That's actually really cool."

"I mean, he's a – er, he's in law enforcement, you know, for the rest of the week," she said, catching herself. Perhaps Nathan might know what an Auror is, but they were still in the middle of Muggle London.

"Law enforcement?" he repeated, grinning. "Should I be worried?"

"Uh…" Rose thought it was much too early to assume he'd meet her father. "No, he's great."

"What do you do for fun?" he asked curiously.

"I like to read," she said. She was about to mention Quidditch, but she wasn't sure he would know what it was, so she didn't bother. "I like taking walks, singing along to the radio, hanging out with my friends… I'm learning how to cook, I guess."

"That's great," he said. "I can't cook for shit."

She shrugged. "What about you?"

"I love to read, too," he said, flashing her a wide smile. "I play some sports, too. I know you might not really know what this is, but I spend a lot of time on the internet. Part of the job, too, I suppose."

Rose had no idea what he was talking about. "Right, right."

"Yeah, you don't know," he said, chuckling. "That's cute."

Her stomach flipped.

After ordering their food, Nathan spent some time explaining what the internet was and what his job entailed. By the time they received their meals, Rose had a vague understanding of what it was. She was glad she'd watched enough movies to have a visual.

"Maybe I'll show you one of these days," he suggested as they dug into their salads. "I'm not too far from here, if you know Park Home Flats?"

Rose tried not to let the shock show on her face; that was one of the buildings she and Albus visited when she was looking for a new place. It was a luxury apartment building, and unlike the rest of London, it had been renovated to look modern. A flat in that building would have cost her three times more than what she could afford, not that she'd known that when she visited.

"Oh," she said, distracting herself but stuffing a forkful of salad in her mouth.

"I can show you what I'm talking about," he continued. "Computers are great. They can downplay them in movies sometimes."

Rose was thankful none of the people at the different tables around them seemed to be listening.

"This is great," Nathan said, gesturing to his food.

"Yeah," she agreed after swallowing. "I come here all the time. Well, I used to. Albus and I would order from here at least three times a week when we lived together. He's bloody obsessed with takeout."

"Yeah, I realized that too," he said, chuckling.

"Not that I – _we_ – eat a ton or whatever," she said quickly. "We eat normal amounts. But I guess we got lazy sometimes? And we had these cooking adventures, and I dunno how, but we nearly burned the kitchen down so many times that we kind of just stuck to takeout…"

She stopped rambling; Nathan was smiling at her for some reason, and it was making her nervous and warm all over. Which didn't help in a heat wave.

"You're adorable, you know that?" he said, his eyes very obviously flitting down to her lips.

She flushed; her heart was suddenly doing very strange things in her chest.

Rose ducked her head and kept eating quietly. Nathan definitely fancied her, and he really was attractive. Breathtakingly so. She should never have agreed to this weird, maybe-a-date, maybe-not-a-date thing. She managed to keep her distance from dating for a year; why should that change because of a favour to Charlotte?

She needed to get out of there, and soon.

* * *

Overall, the impromptu date wasn't _so_ bad.

But Nathan made her so nervous that she escaped as soon as the bill arrived, throwing down her Muggle cash and making an excuse she couldn't even remember after she'd said it. Hopefully that didn't make things awkward, though she was prepared for the worst.

Rose couldn't quite explain why she couldn't handle his obvious flirting. It wasn't as though she didn't like it. She definitely enjoyed the attention from someone so attractive. But she couldn't help putting herself on guard with Nathan. She couldn't control it.

Sure, she wasn't falling for him. Not yet.

But she _could_ fall for him, and that was not okay with her.

She found her way back to Diagon Alley pretty quickly, taking the familiar route to the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. She kept looking at the shop windows, not ready to admit to herself that she was looking for 'Help Wanted' signs. She only saw one at the Apothecary, where Scorpius worked.

Every time she thought about that newspaper article and how he'd lied to her, the thought twisted her gut. She wasn't really sure why it bothered her, but she tried to shake it off as she neared her uncle's shop.

The joke shop was busy and bustling, as it always was on weekend afternoons. Rose squeezed through the tiny aisles around various witches and wizards, trying her best not to knock anything or anyone over. She found Roxanne's father first, stocking up a shelf of what looked like regular playing cards.

Experience told her not to trust that instinct.

"Hi, Uncle George," Rose greeted as she neared him.

"Rosie!" He turned to hug her. "I haven't seen you around here for weeks!"

"It's been really busy," she said apologetically after he released her. "By the way, congratulations! Roxanne looks so excited."

"Thanks," he said, grinning widely. "First Fred, now Roxanne. I feel like my kids are growing up too fast."

"Not to worry, I'm sure you've still got your youth somewhere," Rose said cheekily.

He ruffled her hair fondly. "I think your dad's near the back."

She weaved her way through the crowd, easily spotting her tall father dealing with some customers towards the back of the store. He pocketed their money and they took off just as Rose approached him.

"She lives," her dad said, laughing.

Rose wrinkled her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"You've got to reply to your mum's owls," he explained, bending his knees to lean down and hug her. "She's driving herself mad."

"Yeah, well…" Rose rested her forehead against his shoulder for a moment. "Hugo never replies to her owls."

"That's normal for him, though. She expects that." He leaned back and peered at her. "You don't look sick."

"I'm not sick, dad," she said irritably, wriggling out of his grip. "She's being insane. I just want to figure out the whole job thing on my own."

"Of course you are," he said, smiling proudly at her. She felt a surge of fondness for him.

"I'll reply soon," she promised, but still internally cringing at the thought. "But maybe she could stop with the applications? I've been sending out plenty by myself."

He shrugged. "I'll try to get her to lay off, but you know your mum. She wants to see you come out on top."

"Maybe I don't want to be on top," she grumbled, crossing her arms and looking over at a couple squabbling over some Extendable Ears. "Maybe I just want to enjoy my life."

"That sounds wonderful to me," he said encouragingly. "We just want you to be happy. You know that, right?"

Rose softened. "Yeah."

"Your mum was talking about this last night," he said. "Maybe she's a little anxious about it, but she wants you to be independent. She doesn't want you to rely on anyone, especially when you get married."

"I _do_ want to be independent," she replied, feeling deflated all of a sudden. Rose didn't want to even think about marriage at that point. "I want to have a career and all that. But I just don't really know what to do, and I'm just… not into the office life, I guess."

"You don't have to tell me that," her father said, laughing. "Rosie, you've never been an office person. I'm surprised you never went into education, actually."

"Really?"

"You've always loved learning." He looked past her head. "Looks like I gotta go, Rosie, there's a customer waving me over."

"Oh, right," she said, giving him a quick hug. "Thanks, dad."

"See you soon," he said, pecking her cheek. "By the way, I saw Hugo and Albus earlier, if you want to find them."

Rose perked up as he left and she went on her toes, searching over the crowd to see them. Eventually, she found them over by the Skiving Snackboxes.

"I'm telling you, Al," Hugo was saying, shaking the box at a reluctant-looking Albus. "They'll never know."

"These things have been around forever!" Albus protested, pushing the box away. "I need a better excuse to skive off work. My boss will figure it out in two seconds."

"Why do you want to skip work?" Rose asked as she stepped close enough that they could hear her over the loud crowd.

"Rose!" Albus said happily before throwing an arm over her shoulders. "Please tell your brother that Skiving Snackboxes don't work anymore. Everyone knows what they are."

"It's true," Rose said sadly, thinking back to school and how young and innocent she'd been when she tried to use one of the candies to skip a particularly gruelling History of Magic class. She'd gone on a vomiting fit _and_ gotten detention.

"Albus wants to skip tomorrow because _someone_ –" Hugo mouthed _Charlotte_ , "– is driving him a little crazy, and he needs some time off."

Rose looked back at Albus, who was scowling at Hugo. "I thought you just did that last night, when we had our sleepover."

"Rosie," he moaned, dropping his arm from her to run his hands through his dark hair, making it messier than usual. "You don't get it. We spent _hours_ last weekend looking at flowers because she thought they were all wrong. At the end, we just went with the same damn flowers we had in the beginning."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," Hugo announced, "I'm never getting married."

"Anyway, I used all my sick days when I had that bug earlier this year," Albus said, ignoring Hugo. "I can't take any more days off because Charlotte will actually murder me if we can't do our full honeymoon."

"So we have to get his boss to send Al home," Hugo said, holding up the Snackbox. "Rosie. These will work, right?"

"Not a chance," she replied, and Hugo put the box back on the shelf dejectedly. "Al, why don't you just talk to her?

"That sounds way too stressful," he said, shaking his head.

Hugo gasped all of a sudden. "I have an idea!"

Before either of them could say anything, Hugo disappeared into the aisles. Rose sighed and shook her head; her little brother was always so casual about skipping work, even with their schoolwork back at Hogwarts. Some things never changed.

"So," Albus said, nudging her with his elbow, "how'd your interview go?"

She suddenly remembered she had barely spoken to him since then. He was working when she'd left her interview and didn't want to disturb him. "It was good, actually. But they haven't gotten back to me."

"Oh, they didn't tell you?" he asked with a frown. "They're still interviewing and they'll let you know by next Monday."

"Oh." She didn't know how she felt about that. That felt like ages away, but maybe it was because she had nothing else to do.

"Can I ask you for a favour?" he asked suddenly. "I have this case assignment due by the end of that day, but Charlotte really needs help with the bridal shower."

Rose regarded him cautiously. "What kind of help?"

"You know, the decorating, cleaning, stuff like that," he said, shrugging. "There's some stuff to pick up, I think it's the food for the party. I thought, since you might have some free time, it would be okay?"

His tone was gentle and kind, but Rose felt stung anyway.

"I guess I can do that," she said, twisting her arms against her abdomen.

"Thank you so much," he said gratefully, enveloping her in a hug even though she didn't uncross her arms to hug him back. "I honestly don't even know how I'd get through this without you."

"You seem to be doing just fine," she mumbled under her breath as he let her go.

Albus' smile faltered. "What?"

"Sorry, nothing," she said, attempting to plaster a smile on her face.

"No, what's wrong?" he asked. "Are you busy on Friday? I can ask James."

"James is useless," she pointed out.

"That's why I asked you," Albus replied, like it was obvious. "Seriously, what is it?"

Rose took a deep breath. She knew that she was feeling a little petty, but it felt like everything was piling up. The fact that they barely saw each other anymore and how he basically ignored her when they did. That he made time for her little brother and not her. All those little things were hard to ignore.

"I heard you bought a house," she said instead, sounding strained. She still couldn't believe he didn't tell her.

"Oh," he said, still sounding confused. "Yeah. That just happened kind of suddenly."

"When were you going to tell me?"

"Soon? I dunno." He was looking at her like she had three heads. "I'm guessing Charlotte told you at your sleepover? Look, it's not a big deal. We were just looking around, we saw this one and put in an offer. We didn't even know if we were going to get it."

"Okay." But she felt punched in the stomach all over again.

"Rose," he urged, sounding annoyed now. "It's not a big deal."

"I've barely seen you at all," she said, looking away. "I didn't realize kicking me out of the apartment meant you didn't want me in your life anymore."

His jaw dropped.

"That's not true at all!" he protested, surprised. "Besides, we just had lunch before your interview!"

"Yeah, one hour. Thanks for fitting me in."

"That's not fair," he said as she turned away. "There's a whole fucking wedding going on, remember? Besides, I don't remember _you_ asking me to do anything?"

"You don't?" she asked, feeling very small all of a sudden. "I asked you plenty. I sent you memos and stuff."

Albus squeezed his eyes shut. "Right. I dunno. I literally haven't had a moment to myself in ages because Charlotte's parents are driving me up the wall. I forced her to go to your sleepover last night so she'd have a night off, but then the in-laws came over and had a go at me because we didn't do the wedding photos in the spring."

"I mean, you had time to buy a house," she shot back bitterly, staring across the room at the playpen of multi-coloured Pygmy Puffs. "You had time to come here with Hugo."

He groaned. "Rosie _._ Come on."

"It's been _months_ , you know?" she said, knowing he was probably right, but she was too upset to care. "Before I even moved out, you were always gone somewhere."

"I was just with Charlotte."

"And I did so much for your wedding, remember?" she reminded him. "All these months, going to your appointments for you? And you never even said thank you."

"Why didn't you say anything, then?" he fought. "This is the first I'm hearing about any of this."

"And then you fucking kicked me out," she continued as if she hadn't heard him. "I lost my job and you don't even give a shit."

"I got you an interview! What else did you want me to do?"

A silence fell between them, filled by the loud customers around them. Rose knew she wasn't being fair on one level, but she also knew that he was pushing her away. And she didn't know why.

She let out a long breath and turned back to him. He looked hurt and angry, and she hated that. But she didn't deserve all of that. "I thought we told each other everything, you know? And now I feel like you don't really want me around anymore."

"That's not true at all," he said. "And I'm sorry I kicked you out, okay? But I'm getting married, and you never got the hint that you needed to find your own place."

Rose felt tears pinching her throat.

"What else could I have done?" he asked defensively. "Look, it can't be how it was before. We can't veg out with takeout every night anymore. We can't have movie marathons every weekend. We can't go out for drinks all the time."

"I know that," she said weakly, but she didn't know. Why did getting married mean all of that?

"You want to be independent and all, right?" he said, sounding more and more frustrated as he spoke. "Stop dreaming about stupid shit like travelling or whatever. Get a real job and buy your own house."

The way he said it, she knew he'd been thinking all those things for months.

And that just hurt even more.

"Well," she said, voice thick with tears, "I'm glad I know what you really think of me. I'm sorry my life isn't Albus-approved."

He sighed. "Rosie. It's not that, okay? Please don't take it the wrong way."

"What way do you want me to take it?" she said, wiping her eyes with her palms. "You've always had a clear-cut plan for your life. I know your next step, okay? You're going to have your first kid within the next year and judge everyone else who hasn't gotten their lives figured it out."

"That's – that's not – Charlotte's not pregnant," he sputtered.

"I know that. She drank three glasses of wine last night."

"Merlin," he groaned.

"See?" she pointed out at his tone of disapproval. "But my life has never been like that. I don't know what I want, okay? I guess that's why you're cutting me out of your life."

"I'm _not_ cutting you out of my life," he argued tiredly. "Why do you keep saying that? Just because you had to move out and I've been busy with the wedding?"

"Yeah," she said, wiping her eyes again. "Yeah, that's why."

Albus moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. "That's not true, okay? I'm sorry. I'll try to do better."

Rose struggled out his grip. "Don't bother."

She saw Hugo on her way out, discussing something with their uncle, but didn't stop to say goodbye. She wasn't proud of the fact that she'd had a row with Albus in the middle of a crowded shop and she was even more embarrassed that she was crying in public.

She made her way home, wondering if all of her friends thought of her this way. She didn't think so. She was actually pretty sure most of them were too caught up in their lives to really consider her at all.

Maybe that's why she clung to Albus so much; it was just last year that he was letting her cry into his shirt when she finally had the guts to break up with Travis. He'd been so proud of her back then. And she was the one who prodded Albus into proposing, and he'd been so grateful to her. What changed?

And then she was angry.

Rose knew she loved her friends, but the way they'd been with her lately wasn't great. She knew she was falling a little behind in life, being single and recently jobless, but hadn't they understood? Wasn't it Albus who pointed out that it was Travis who had hindered her in her career, pointing out how Travis always discouraged Rose from working on promotions? Wasn't it Charlotte who told her that Rose didn't need a relationship, and she would be just fine while single?

They weren't being so nice now, were they?

By the time Rose fell asleep that night, she was all cried out, but still had no idea what to do or what to believe. Mostly, she just felt tired and lonely.

So far, that's mainly what the Rest of her Life had been like for her.

* * *

A/N: Hey there! I hope you enjoyed this update :) I apologize it took a little longer than usual; I moved countries to be with my fiance (hopefully we get married on paper soon... the pandemic has been making everything difficult) and we don't have internet yet. I managed to get this posted through public wifi jkfdshjk

Sorry for lack of Scorpius (he'll be back in the next chapter), but any thoughts on Albus and Rose's interactions? :)

Next: Rose meets Scorpius' friends.

Stay safe!


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

Was it possible to just write off an entire day and pretend it never happened? Rose thought that would be absolutely lovely. Instead, she spent most of her Sunday burying herself in a new book, lounging in bed and drinking coffee. It was nice to be lost in a world that wasn't hers, just for a little while.

In the late afternoon, Rose decided to get to Hogsmeade early, resumé in hand, just to check out the bookshop and see if they were still hiring. Roxanne had an appointment with a realtor that afternoon, so she came fifteen minutes early, just to be safe. She was getting much better at the whole being-on-time thing.

Rose actually really liked Hogsmeade. Sometimes Albus would say it reminded him too much of school and he wanted to leave that part of his life behind, but she still thought it had that magical feeling. It was quieter during the summertime, which was a nice change of pace from Diagon Alley.

When she approached the bookshop, she was happy to see a red 'Help Wanted' sign still hung in the window. Unfortunately, the shop was closed on that Sunday. Fortunately, Rose still had a few envelopes left in her bag from all the previous applications she had sent. She folded her resumé carefully, slipped in an envelope and sealed it before pushing it through the mail slot.

Roxanne was waiting for her outside Honeydukes, as they'd planned. Rose found herself hugging Roxy for a longer length of time than she'd intended, making Roxy laugh.

"Hi," Roxy said, sounding amused as she squeezed back tightly. "I'm happy to see you too."

Rose leaned back and gave the first smile in many hours, which also the corners of her mouth feel stretched. "Ready to find your future home?"

"It's just the first showing," Roxanne reminded her as they set off towards the realtor's office. "I'm definitely not going to buy today, especially since Noah's out of town and can't see it."

"Albus bought a house last week," she said wearily.

"Wait, really?" Roxy frowned. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"He didn't tell me, either."

"Odd," Roxy commented as they neared the edge of town, heading into the residential areas. "He's not been himself, has he? Hopefully he snaps out of it after the wedding."

"Yeah…" Rose trailed off and shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts; she'd thought enough about her absent cousin and supposed best friend while crying over ice cream the night before. "Anyway. Have you figured out a date for your wedding yet?"

"Since last week?" Roxanne asked with a chuckle. "No, not really. But what do you think about next spring?"

"I kind of figured, actually. Seems like the obvious time."

"Mhmm," Roxy agreed as they approached the realtor office.

The realtor was a tall, thin lady that had large glasses on her face that almost resembled cat ears. She first showed them a house that looked like a hut with two floors, and it was so small that they had to go single-file through the hallways.

The second home seemed a little closer to what Roxanne was looking for – reasonably spacious, two bedrooms, a slightly larger kitchen – but looked like it was straight out of the nineteenth century. Hinges were rusting and the coats of paint looked to be at least an inch thick.

Roxanne looked interested, though. "What are the chances of replacing the floor?" she asked the realtor, pressing a toe down on the creaking, nearly rotting wood floor of the living room.

"The floor provides the vintage feel," the realtor said dismissively.

"It might cave in, is that vintage?" Rose muttered once she was out of earshot. Roxanne stifled a giggle.

The third house's floor looked much newer, and the realtor mentioned it had been built within the last century, at least. Rose didn't see anything necessarily wrong with the house, but she noticed the look on Roxy's face.

"It's the layout," she explained briefly with a shrug.

As they checked more homes, Rose began to ponder what she wanted for her own home one day. It seemed a little silly to think about, just having moved into her lovely little flat, but she didn't want to stay there forever. But if she was being honest, she'd always thought she would have a family before all of that.

Her milestones were starting to feel farther and farther away each day.

By the time they'd finished exploring houses – they checked out about ten – both Roxy and Rose's stomachs were growling with hunger. They Apparated back to Diagon Alley to have dinner at a pub called Nox, a place that had become one of their favourites over the years. It was crowded, but they always managed to find a seat.

"I think I liked the sixth one we went to," Roxanne said after they'd ordered fish and chips to share. "It was newer, the kitchen had an actual stove and oven and the third bedroom doesn't hurt."

"It was good for the price," Rose agreed. "I can't believe how many of these places had just a burner for the stove or a closet for a bedroom. I doubt a proper-sized mattress could fit in there."

"Which one did you like?" Roxy asked as she thumbed through the drink menu.

"The one that was next-to-last," she said, leaning her elbows on the table and resting her head on her hands. "It was a bit pricey, but I liked that it had a little patio in the back. Looked peaceful."

"There's going to be more of these, I expect," Roxy said with a sigh. "Hogsmeade isn't that big, either. Do you think I should expand my search?"

"Nah. You'll always have Hogwarts, remember? And Noah will help, when he's back in town."

"True. Did I tell you that he's thinking of cutting back on travelling?"

"I think you mentioned that…"

Rose and Roxanne discussed plans as their food arrived, thinking over the wedding plans for the next year. Rose hoped what happened with Albus wouldn't happen with Roxy, and she wouldn't take advantage, but it didn't seem as though it was going to happen. In fact, it seemed that Roxy was more than happy to take charge of most of the planning. Rose leaned back, popping chips in her mouth as Roxy spoke excitedly about her wedding.

"I'm really happy for you, Roxy," Rose said softly, smiling. "You're starting this new chapter in your life with a new job, and the engagement…"

Roxanne smiled back, but her expression was questioning. "Don't get all emotional on me. Actually, you seem kind of down today."

"Oh, it's not you," she said quickly. "I promise. I'm really excited for you."

"Then…?" Roxy leaned in. "I can tell, you know."

"Yeah, yeah." Rose exhaled a long breath. "I had rowed with Al yesterday."

"Oh." Roxy had heard a bit of how Albus had been oblivious and absent, but they hadn't really spoken of it. "Was it because of the house?"

Rose nodded. "I think that's what started it. But no, I think it's been a long time coming."

She described what happened, and Roxy listened; she was always great at that. Rose told her how the fight had gotten ugly rather quickly – not that she wasn't to blame for it – and what Albus had said about her recent situation, and how he implied she was jealous that he was moving further on in life.

"Well, are you jealous?" Roxy asked.

"No." Rose sighed. "Well, maybe. But I've been trying to be supportive of him. I really am happy that he's getting married and moving into a home. But that stuff just isn't in the cards for me. At least not right now."

"I dunno if I've just travelled too much for my job in the last few years," Roxy began, "but when exactly did you not want to get married anymore?"

Rose shrugged. "Sometime in the last year? I dunno. I just figured that it wasn't really worth all the heartbreak, right? It's different for you and Albus. You two met your soulmates at Hogwarts."

"I wouldn't say _soulmates,_ " Roxanne said, laughing.

"You know what I mean," Rose said with a wave of her hand. "But I haven't met anyone, I think it's okay that I'm focusing more on my career right now."

Roxy didn't say anything, but looked at her curiously.

Rose felt self-conscious all of a sudden. "What? There's nothing wrong with that. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? Have a great career, be independent? My parents will not shut up about it."

"I dunno," Roxy said thoughtfully. "Haven't you spent enough time doing things other people expect you to do?"

Rose buried her face in her hands and groaned.

"It just hurt what he said," she explained quietly. "He really thinks I'm wasting my life. And in his weird way, he's trying to help. But I just don't know what I'm supposed to be doing."

"No, he doesn't think that," Roxanne said confidently, putting a hand on Rose's arm. "Don't forget, we watched you kind of lose yourself when you were with Travis Davies. There were loads of times when you could have applied for promotions, switched departments… anything. But Travis wasn't very supportive of any of that."

"You tried to tell me," Rose said, still not looking at her. She felt ashamed of that time; how could she have let it get so bad? "Both of you tried."

"Healing takes time, okay?" Roxanne squeezed her arm. "You're much better now than you were a year ago. Albus might just be overwhelmed with all the wedding stuff."

"He still said what he did," Rose pointed out, straightening up.

"Yeah, and he's going to pay for it," Roxanne said, scowling.

This made Rose laugh.

"He's always had a plan," Rose said, mostly thinking to herself. "I've always thought I'd have that plan, too. But it's not really working out that way, and I'm wondering if it was really a good plan for me."

"Nothing goes the way we think it does. Do you think I thought I'd be teaching at Hogwarts?"

"No," Rose admitted.

"And as much as Albus thinks he's so great, we _both_ know he misses being out in the field," Roxanne continued. "Maybe he's distracted from the wedding stuff, but remember how miserable he was about sitting in an office all day?"

"He _was_ just trying to skip out work…" Rose said in realization, thinking of those Skiving Snackboxes.

"There you go." Roxanne smiled, and Rose managed one back. Roxanne changed the subject then by ordering a slice of chocolate cake.

A little while later after sharing some cake and a few laughs, Rose was feeling much lighter. Sure, she was still hurt by her fight with Albus, but she didn't feel so idiotic for following her own life path.

And maybe it was time she stood up for herself and her choices.

* * *

Later, Roxanne decided she needed to head home so that she wouldn't be so tired for work. Rose, of course, having nowhere to be the next morning, decided to stay and have a drink before leaving.

Rose moved to the side of the bar, sitting on a barstool and sipping her beer. She looked around the pub; she knew a decent number of classmates from school, but barely ever spoke to them. She could even see Lysander and Lorcan Scamander at one table, who were family friends, but she wasn't close to them. Surprisingly, she didn't see anyone from her family.

But she did see Scorpius.

Had she started bumping into him more often recently? Or had she just never noticed him before?

He was sitting in a corner booth with his friends. She could see Miles Zabini sitting beside him but had no idea who the others were; their backs were facing away from her. They were looking and listening to the Wireless on one end of the table, beers and empty dinner plates in front of them.

Rose was still somewhat annoyed with Scorpius. She wondered for the hundredth time: _why_ hadn't he told her? Realistically, he had every right to not mention his past marriage; it's not like it was a big deal, wasn't it? But it clearly was a big deal to him.

And they'd spent a lot of time together those past few weeks, and she thought she could trust him. She'd opened up to him.

Maybe that's why this all stung so bad.

And then she thought, _fuck it._ They were friends. And she was open with her friends.

Without really thinking it through, she went over and slid in the booth onto the empty seat beside Scorpius, accidentally bumping his shoulder with hers. She regretted it a second later when he looked at her, eyes wide behind his glasses; somehow, she'd momentarily forgotten they weren't really _public_ friends.

But did that really matter?

"Rose," he said, recovering from the shock with a clearing of his throat. "Hey."

All heads that were previously turned towards the wireless at the end of the table turned to her. She was sitting at a table of Slytherins, and too late, she realized the person sitting across from her was Annika .

"Uh – this is my friend Rose," Scorpius introduced, gesturing towards her. "You all remember her…"

There was a brief silence before Victor Goyle and Isaac Rosier turned back to the Wireless without saying a word. She wasn't sure if they particularly even cared that she was there; their faces were entirely expressionless. Zabini and Annika were looking at her in interest.

"You're friends with Gryffindors now?" Zabini said, raising his eyebrow at Scorpius.

"It's been nearly eight years since Hogwarts, mate," Scorpius said, raising an eyebrow right back.

"Nice to meet you, too," Rose said, raising her glass to him. Zabini's lips twitched, but he ignored her with a roll of his eyes.

"How do you two know each other?" Annika asked, peering at them suspiciously.

"We live in the same building," she replied, taking a sip from her glass to avoid her gaze. "I just moved in this month."

"That explains a lot," Zabini muttered, shifting his attention back to the Wireless.

"Wait, you live in Scorpius' building?" Annika confirmed, jabbing a finger in Rose's direction. She nodded, taken aback. "Good. Can you, for the love of Merlin, _please_ tell me why he insists on living there?"

"I –" She looked beside her to Scorpius. "I dunno, actually?"

"I told you, Annika," he said in a bored voice. "I couldn't find a flat in Diagon Alley. Especially not that cheap."

"What about Knockturn Alley?" she pressed.

"I hate Knockturn Alley. No good coffee shops."

Annika shook her head in frustration. "So instead, you live in a Muggle building and walk everywhere, like a Muggle. I will never understand."

"It's a nice building, actually," Rose put in, shrugging. Nott's sharp gaze zeroed in on her. "It's not very far, you hardly see any Muggles, anyway. Not that there's a problem with Muggles."

" _No_ ," Scorpius said, scowling at Annika. "There's nothing wrong with Muggles."

She shrank back. "I didn't say anything."

"Good." He turned back to the radio, silence falling in between them.

 _What a friendly lot_ , Rose thought to herself.

"Congratulations on your engagement," Rose said to Annika, not knowing what else to say. "You must be excited."

"Oh, it's brilliant," she said casually, inspecting her long, manicured nails. "Next year, we'll be having a summer wedding. The only time that's acceptable." Rose noticed Scorpius stiffen beside her, ever so slightly.

"Really?" Rose asked, surprised. "What about spring? You know, the flowers blooming?"

Annika scoffed. "What, do I want to be sneezing through my entire wedding?"

"Summer is great, but it's hot," Rose pointed out. "I'd be sweating through my dress."

"Mine is indoors," Annika insisted. "The pictures are one of the most important parts, don't you think? I can't leave the outcome of those to chance."

"I suppose."

"So your wedding will be in the spring?" she inquired.

"Oh, I'm not getting married," Rose said quickly. "But I would consider having a wedding in autumn."

Annika stared at her in disbelief.

"I think it would be nice, actually," she continued cheerfully. "The changing leaves, the autumnal smells. That time reminds of Hogwarts, too, which is just an added bonus."

"Are you serious?"

"No, not really," Rose said, making Scorpius snort.

"My wedding was in autumn," Zabini said pointedly at Annika. She turned red.

"Anyway," she said, shifting away from him and turning back to Rose, "what do you do?"

"Er, nothing at the moment. I'm in between jobs," she admitted nervously. Surprisingly, no one at the table even batted an eye.

"Are you at all interested in beauty?" Annika asked, visibly perking up and peering closely at Rose. "I'm at a salon in Knockturn Alley. Hair cutting, nails, piercings, everything. The tips are excellent."

"Oh – no, sorry," Rose replied, staring at her. Now that she mentioned it, Annika was rather well put together; her long blonde ringlets were smooth, whereas Rose's tended to be frizzy ninety-nine percent of the time. She didn't have any spots on her face and her eyebrows were styled sharply over her bright blue eyes. She was almost frighteningly perfect.

"Rose likes reading," Scorpius put in unhelpfully.

Annika looked deflated. "We've been trying to find someone for the longest time." Rose didn't bother to point out that she would never work in Knockturn Alley, but the unspoken sentiment was there.

There was a pause.

"So, who's playing?" Rose asked, trying to listen to the Wireless, but she couldn't catch the name of the team.

"Harpies vs. Magpies," Zabini answered, reaching over to turn up the volume.

Rose had forgotten that Skye had told her she was playing a game that weekend. To her relief, Harpies were in the lead by fifty points, though no one had spotted the Snitch for three hours.

"What?" Scorpius said, nudging her arm. Rose realized she was smiling to herself.

"My friend Skye is on the Harpies team," she explained.

"Oh, she's good," Annika commented, nodding. "I've been following the Harpies since Hogwarts, they're definitely my team."

"Annika is a self-proclaimed _feminist_ ," Zabini said, saying the word scathingly like it was an insult. "That's the only reason she follows the Harpies, because they're all female." Annika reached across the table smacked him upside the head.

"You're an arse," she told him.

"What's wrong with feminism?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow. In the corner of her eye, she could see Scorpius shaking his head.

"Don't start," he warned under his breath.

Annika was still glaring at Zabini. "There's actually nothing wrong with it, but Miles is in denial. I've been working on him, though."

"That's what you say," he replied, rubbing the back of his head, "but then you just go on and on about it, and it's so bloody boring. Yes, yes, women have rights, can we move on now?"

"Actually, she's right," Rose said, sitting up and ignoring Scorpius' expression entirely. "Men always say that, but who gets stuck with all the work when a baby comes along? Who gets pressured into quitting their jobs?"

Zabini couldn't seem to figure out what to say and turned to Scorpius, who just shrugged. "It's true."

"I'm being ganged-up on," Zabini complained.

Scorpius was trying so hard not to laugh. "But they do have a point, mate."

"I think it's fair to say we've won this round," Rose said, grinning, "and it honestly wasn't that difficult."

Zabini gave a loud sigh. "Fine."

" _Thank_ you!" Annika said happily. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for that." She surprised Rose by holding up a hand and high-fiving her. Scorpius was fully laughing by this point, and Zabini was glaring at Rose.

Well, that wasn't what she had expected at all.

* * *

"I think you shocked them."

"Hmm?" Rose hadn't been listening. As they walked through Diagon Alley, making their way back to their apartment building, she'd been considering what exactly her problem was. Why did she insist on inserting herself into Scorpius' life? Did she do that with everyone? She even tried to befriend a cat.

Maybe that's why Albus was so annoyed by her?

"I think you shocked them," Scorpius repeated, grinning. "We spend a lot of time thinking about how people are naturally scared of Slytherins, or how much they hate us, and there you were, plopping down as if none of that mattered."

Rose scoffed. "You lot are not as scary as you pretend."

"You might be the only one who has ever said that."

"That's because the idea is so ridiculous that no one in their right mind would ever even consider it."

He laughed loudly, and Rose felt any annoyance she'd felt towards Scorpius ebb away. Which also annoyed her.

She opened her mouth to ask about Annika and the divorce, but she'd never seen him so freely laughing with her. Something about it made her hesitate; did he really not trust her? He just let her in and didn't seem to mind that she'd just invaded in his personal life. But he did lie, even if by omission.

Rose closed her mouth indecisively.

"I don't think they're used to someone like you," he told her, not noticing Rose's internal combat. "I think that's the most we've all said to each other in a while."

"What, do you all just sit there quietly?" Rose asked, bewildered.

"Not all the time," he said, still chuckling. "You're actually good at making conversation, you know."

"Thanks," she said, touched by the compliment. Especially since she still sort of regretted sitting down with them at all. They passed a few more shops before she spoke again. "Did you have a nice weekend?"

"It was all right. I had to work the closing shift yesterday, which is always fun."

She detected the sarcasm in his tone. "Doesn't your father usually do it?"

"Yeah, but he wanted to take my mother out for dinner," he said, shrugging. "So I did it."

"That's sweet."

"How was your weekend?"

Rose was about to reply when a tall figure in dark hooded robes that had been previously on the other side of the street and walking the opposite way suddenly made a beeline for Scorpius. He quite literally rammed his shoulder into Scorpius' side, causing him to stagger backwards and fall over.

"Oi!" Rose shouted over her shoulder angrily, "Watch where you're going!" But the wizard made no attempt to stop, and she had no idea who it was; it was dark, and his hood covered his face.

Scorpius gingerly got back on his feet, swearing under his breath.

"Are you all right?" she asked as he dusted off his hands.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, not looking at her. He sounded tired all of sudden, even though he'd been laughing just a minute before. "Don't worry about it."

She stared at him. "Do you know him?"

"No." He started walking again, and it took a moment for her to jog and catch up to him. Somehow, she had a feeling this wasn't the first time this had happened, but he clearly didn't want to talk about it.

They were back in Muggle London soon enough, and Rose told him about going house shopping with Roxanne earlier that morning. He seemed extremely relieved for the distraction.

"Is that somewhere you might look, one day?" he asked. "You know, because of your friend?"

"I might," she said, shrugging. "I haven't decided yet. I'm not even close to that milestone."

"No?"

"First, I need to find a higher-paying job," she said, ticking it off on her index finger. "I've got enough savings for a few months, but I think it'll get depleted if I don't get one soon. But maybe I'll get lucky and find a job soon, and that can go towards a down payment."

"Makes sense," he said, nodding.

"But before that, I need to start saving for retirement," she said, sighing. "My parents gave me a little to start, but I really think that milestone should come first. Just so it can compound, you know?"

"Sure," he said, watching the traffic light as they stopped at an intersection. "Where did these milestones come from, anyway?"

"I mean, they're well known," Rose pointed out. "But I guess…" She trailed off in the next moment, realizing they'd come from her mum first, then Albus. Neither of whom she was speaking to at the moment.

Scorpius pulled her wrist gently when the light changed, as she hadn't moved.

"I'm not really achieving your milestones in the same way," he said, letting her go as they kept walking. "I guess I got the couch or something. But I'm saving for a house first."

"You are?" she asked, surprised. The Malfoy Manor was so famous, she never really considered he'd want to live anywhere else.

"Yeah," he said, shrugging. "I dunno, it's just something I wanted to do. I guess in the same way that you want to make your own way in the world. I've been saving for a few years now."

It suddenly dawned on her why Scorpius lived in such a small flat.

"Let me guess," she said, looking sideways at him. "You want a garden. And a giant kitchen with granite countertops."

He seemed annoyed for a second before realizing she wasn't teasing him. "How did you know that?"

She looked at him incredulously. "I couldn't imagine a house of yours any differently."

"Hmm." He seemed lost in thought as they approached their building, holding the door open for her. He was quiet all the way up the three floors to their flat, and still didn't say anything by the time they were standing in front of Rose's door.

"Well," she said, turning back to face him. "That was an interesting evening."

"You do tend to make things interesting," he said, somewhat absent-mindedly.

Rose bit her lip. "Are you annoyed that I sat with your friends? I didn't really think it through. I kind of had something on my mind."

This seemed to shake him out of his reverie. "What? No."

"Really?" The whole divorce thing had her second-guessing everything, and she hated it.

"Of course not," he said, sounding very confused. "Why would I? Besides, we're not in school anymore. We don't have designated tables."

"That was kind of ridiculous, wasn't it?" Rose said, looking down at the floor and chuckling in relief. "I mean, I guess it was fun when we were younger."

"I suppose," he agreed. "It was nice to feel like you belonged somewhere."

"Yeah," she said, pleasantly surprised by his insightfulness. "It was."

He stepped forward. "Are you tired?"

"Not… particularly," she said, watching as he came even closer and twisted one of her curls around his finger. His grey eyes were darkening. "Why, did you have something in mind?"

"Maybe."

"You know, you gave me a hickey last time," she said, shifting the neck of her dress down to show him the small, fading bruise on her collarbone. "I didn't appreciate it."

She thought she saw the ghost of a smirk, but it disappeared before she could confirm. "I'll be more careful next time."

"No you won't," she said, trying not to laugh.

"Nope."

Scorpius pressed his lips to hers, pushing her into her door. He was incredibly straightforward with what he wanted, and that fact alone made her laugh against his lips. He grunted in annoyance.

"Did you want to come in?" she asked teasingly.

"Obviously," he mumbled, kissing her again. She felt herself melting into his warm body on hers, but knew the neighbours would not appreciate the public performance.

With some difficulty since he kept kissing her shoulders and the back of her neck, she fumbled with her keys until her door was finally unlocked and they were pushing into her apartment. Her keys and bag dropped on the floor as he grabbed her, pulling her in for another persistent kiss.

Rose felt dizzy with want as she looped her arms around his neck and stood on her toes. There was something so electrifying about the way he acted, mouth hot and needy against hers, and it was unlike anything she'd experienced before with anyone else.

She knew that.

But it also made her stand on guard for a second. Maybe it was a reminder of how her friends had warned her about this just days ago, sitting on her living room floor, not far from where she was standing now. She was realizing that neither Rose nor Scorpius had thought this whole arrangement through.

They were being rather reckless, weren't they?

But if Rose considered what meant more to her — friendship or sex — it was definitely friendship. Without question. Somehow, Scorpius had become her friend, and she wasn't in the habit of throwing those away.

"Wait," she said, pulling away. "Stop."

He stilled, arms still wrapped around her waist. "Everything okay?"

"I'm not sure we should be doing this anymore."

"Oh," he said in surprise, but didn't move away. "Why's that?"

"We're friends," she began, searching for the right words.

"I know." When she didn't say anything, he continued. "I thought we were just having fun?"

"Yeah…"

"Then what's the issue?"

"My friends said that this doesn't work if we're friends," she told him, cringing as the words came out. "Shit. That sounded so stupid."

He looked confused. "You told your friends about this?"

"I didn't say your name," she quickly assured him. "Just that this thing was happening."

"Ah." He considered her thoughtfully. "Well, the way I see it, I think it's your call. Just tell me that you want to stop, and I will."

And before she could say anything, he'd dipped his lips down to her neck, skimming along her throat before leaving open-mouthed kisses along her collarbone. Rose felt the words die on her tongue.

"Anytime now," he said, lips against her skin. The movement sent a tingle down her spine.

"That's not fair," she said weakly. " _Scorpius –_ "

His mouth covered hers insistently. Her mind blanked of its own accord as she kissed him back, fingers tangling in his hair as he ground himself between her legs. It was only when she felt his hands at the back of her thighs, just about to hitch her around him that she broke away.

"You fight dirty," she grumbled, panting.

He shrugged. "Slytherin."

Rose nearly laughed at the irony. "Seriously, though –"

"I don't care what your friends think," he told her, still tracing softly where her arse connected her thighs, outside the skirt of her dress. "You're my friend and we have amazing sex. I want both if you do."

Her cheeks burned. "Fine."

"Yeah?" he asked, all laughter fading from his expression. "You sure?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Good," he said softly. And then his lips were back on hers, his hands tightened around her arse and he was lifting her, headed towards her bedroom. For some reason, she couldn't think properly when he was pressed against her like this, and it felt too good to stop.

In the dark, Scorpius somehow navigated to her bed and she felt herself fall into the mattress. Somehow he'd also found his way up her dress, not waiting at all before he pushed it over her head and throwing it away from them.

His lips found hers again as his hands ran up and down her bare sides, making her shiver. He was more than eager, nipping at her bottom lip and slipping his tongue in her mouth before she realized it. She pushed his shirt up his torso, but he was reluctant to lean away to take it off.

When he did, he practically threw it off to the side before leaning back over her. He zeroed in on the fading hickey on her collarbone and kissed it gently, making her moan. He continued around the base of her neck, distracting her long enough until she realized he'd unhooked her bra.

Scorpius grinned at the surprise on her face. "You're very sensitive, you know that?"

"Shut up," she muttered, blushing.

Then he was tugging her bra away and his mouth was on her chest, making her cry out. He circled his tongue around her nipple before sucking gently, then switched to the other one. She couldn't help but wrap her legs around his waist, seeking friction. He broke off when she managed to lift her hips and grind against him.

" _Rose_ ," he groaned, quickly undoing his belt. He climbed back over her after pushing off his clothes, leaving him in just his boxers. He practically threw his glasses onto her nightstand.

She pulled down on his shoulder blades to kiss him, feeling his body press into hers again. His skin on hers felt like relief and it felt like heat; she couldn't decide which one. At the moment, she just wanted more.

Just wanted to lose herself.

His stubble scratched at her chin as his mouth bruised hers, and now that there were fewer layers in between them, she was intensely aware of the hardness that was pressing in between her thighs. She reached between their bodies towards him, but he had her arms pinned against the mattress in seconds.

Her hips met his over the fabric, making them moan in unison. He let go of her to yank her underwear down her legs and touch her, a little rougher than she would have normally liked, but somehow he knew it was what she wanted. She moaned again, her head falling back into her duvet. His lips dropped down to her shoulder.

"I missed you," he murmured into her skin, like it had slipped out without realizing. Then he was kissing her again, fingers on her clit, making her brain fuse out before she could properly consider what he said.

Rose had no idea when his boxers came off, but he wrapped her legs around him for the second time that night, meeting her eyes as he pushed into her. She suddenly felt like her lungs were entirely devoid of air.

He leaned over her, forearms landing on either side of her head as he moved. He kissed her once, twice and then his forehead was on hers, breathing laboured as he fucked her hard. Her eyes were screwed shut from the jolting pleasure, because if her eyes were open, she knew the room would be spinning.

Scorpius' moan was low and ragged when she came, and he followed just a few moments later. His lips met hers afterwards, swallowing her satisfied sigh.

"Holy fuck," Rose panted as he collapsed on the other side of the bed. "Why is this so good?"

"I dunno," Scorpius said breathlessly, chuckling. They laid in comfortable silence for a while, catching their breath. Then he leaned over, twisting his spine so he could kiss her slowly, coaxing himself in between her legs again. This time was gentler, but she wanted it.

Rose couldn't explain this. She had so many questions, and after what her friends said, she had reservations with all of this. But she'd never experienced someone quite like Scorpius; there was comfort with him, like he understood what she needed. Like her understood _her._

And maybe she was stupid beyond measure, but she didn't want to give this up.

Not yet.

* * *

A/N: Hey there! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. What did you think of Scorpius' friends? :)

I am officially back and writing now. Hoping to update more frequently now that I have internet and a new desk. Thank you so much for reading and being patient with me!


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

Waking up next to Scorpius felt different in her own bed.

She wasn't quite used to waking up in his bed, but it wasn't unfamiliar anymore. But him in _her_ flat was odd. Feeling another body next to her, how the bed would dip towards him every time he rolled over, hearing his quiet breathing whenever she stirred. It wasn't as lonely, but it was still odd.

And she was getting the strangest feeling. Like she wanted to _cuddle_.

Damn her friends for putting that in her head.

Instead, she scooted further to her end of the bed — Scorpius had managed to take the right side, even in her own bed — and snuggled into her pillow, trying to forget that feeling altogether. She felt him shift over, sliding his arms over her legs before slow kisses landed on the back of her neck, tugging down her nightshirt.

It wasn't cuddling, but it would do.

"I know what you're doing."

"What?" he whispered innocently as his fingers brushed at her knees, working upwards.

"It's not happening," she said bluntly, clamping her thighs together.

He sighed and slowed his movements. "Too sore?"

"Yeah." Their adventures the night before had been a little rougher and urgent. The warmth of his bare chest was more than inviting, but after their second round that night, she was already a little too sensitive. "Maybe tonight, though."

"Sorry about that."

"No you're not," she said, rolling her eyes even though he couldn't see it.

"No I'm not," he confirmed, and she could hear the grin in his voice. He rolled back onto his side of the bed and yawned. "You seemed to enjoy it, though."

She made a noise somewhere between an agreement and a groan, making him laugh.

The night before, Rose briefly considered the "rules" her friends had mentioned, but when he collapsed in her bed her after using her bathroom, who was she to kick him out? She'd slept over at his place plenty of times.

Perhaps Scorpius wasn't really one for snuggles or pillow conversations, or perhaps he understood the boundaries to some extent. It was difficult to tell, and she wondered how he'd gone from _marriage_ to a casual relationship at all.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, turning over to face him, drawing the covers up.

"Sure," he said as he put his glasses on his nose.

"Have you ever done this before?" She gestured between them.

He looked at her strangely. "Obviously."

"No, not just sex," she clarified, "casual sex. No strings attached. Whatever you want to call this."

He hesitated. "Once. A little while after my last relationship ended, I met this girl at a bar and we ended up going back to her place."

Rose noticed how he never used the word 'divorced'.

"Hmm." She observed him. "You hated it."

"Not exactly," he said, shrugging. "It was great in the moment. But I walked away really guilty about it because it was just too soon."

"Are you guilty now?"

" _Now_?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "No. Why the hell would I be guilty after three years?"

Rose wasn't sure if she believed him, even though he definitely sounded like he was telling the truth. Again, she couldn't help wondering whether Scorpius was genuinely honest or a very good liar. And she wouldn't put that past him.

He caught her attention by yawning loudly again.

"I'm going to need some coffee before work," Scorpius decided as he stretched. "Do you want to come with me?"

"I'm actually going to make it here, if you want some," she offered.

"No shit," he said, looking at her curiously. "You bought one of those big things the Muggles use in the shop?"

"Not exactly."

They parted ways to brush their teeth and freshen up. When Scorpius came back into her flat, Rose was in the kitchen and saw the furry grey blur that brushed past his ankles and dart into the corner of the living room.

"Your friend is here," Scorpius said, looking less interested in the cat and much more interested in Rose as she set up a ceramic cone-like contraption over a mug. He watched as she shook a decent amount of ground coffee into the filter.

"How does it work, then?"

"I'm boiling water," she said, nodding to the kettle on the stove, "and then I just pour it slowly over the coffee grounds, and somehow…" She gestured to the mug. "Coffee."

He tilted his head at it, as if that would explain how it worked.

"It was the cheapest one," Rose added, picking up the bag of coffee and taking a long sniff. Coffee was one of the most amazing scents; she never got enough of it. She may have saved some money on buying coffee from a café, but she'd splurged a little on the coffee beans.

Scorpius leaned his side against the counter, still looking confused as he stared at the cup.

"Just be patient," she told him, opening one of her cupboards to fetch the cat food.

"I am the epitome of patient."

"Right." Rose shook a healthy amount of food into the bowl.

"So, no more Morning Owl?" Scorpius asked, referring to their current favourite coffee shop. "Their coffee is amazing, you have to admit."

"It is amazing," she said, putting the bowl in the opposite corner to the crouching cat. "But I realized after I started cooking that I was saving so much money. And now that I don't have a job…"

"Makes sense," he said, smiling. "Did you just check your account balance or something?"

"Something like that," she admitted. "It's just hard to see that there's nothing coming in for a bit, and I might as well _try_ to be responsible, right?"

He shrugged. "You are responsible. You'll figure it out."

The kettle began to spit out a whistle and Rose hurried over to turn off the stove. Scorpius watched curiously as she started to pour the steaming water into the cone, dampening the coffee grounds immediately. Below, coffee dripped into the mug. Slowly.

"Oh, I see," he said, knocking her arm with his as he twisted the pour-over around. "That's kind of neat, actually. Maybe it will actually be good."

"We'll see in…" Rose pretended to check an invisible watch on her wrist. "I dunno, an hour?"

Scorpius chuckled.

She leaned her head on his bare shoulder – he still wasn't wearing a shirt – and watching the neighbour's cat finally going over to the bowl of food she'd put down. "Did you go to your cottage yesterday? Do your gardening?"

"Yeah," he replied, taking the kettle to keep slowly pouring water over the filter. "This heat wave is awful, though. It's burning everything."

"What do you grow?" she asked curiously. Thankfully, he seemed to somewhat believe that she wasn't trying to make fun of him. She really was interested in what he liked to do.

He smiled sheepishly at her. "Vegetables and herbs, mostly. Stuff for the Apothecary."

"Food. Of course. Why am I not surprised?" she teased.

"I used to do more," he said, sounding like was about to say more, but stayed quiet in the end. She sensed it was a sensitive topic and didn't pry.

She watched as the little cat scarfed down his meal. "What's your cottage like? Is it by the water?"

"Yeah," he replied. The mug was getting full, so he stopped pouring water and let the last bit of coffee drip away. "It's on a lake. It's a little old-fashioned since it's been in my family for ages, but we all enjoy it."

"That sounds really nice," she said, thinking of how her family would normally be vacationing by that time in the summer. If it weren't for the wedding, Rose and Albus' families would have rented a place for a couple of weeks. The previous year, they'd gotten a large cottage near the sea. They spent the entire time boating, laying on the beach and eating ice cream.

"You should come."

"Hmm?"

"This weekend," he said, and she stopped leaning on his shoulder to look at him properly. "If you're free."

"Where? Your cottage?" she asked, surprised.

"Why not?" he said, shrugging. "It's nice to get away, isn't?"

"Yeah." She nodded and looked down at the counter, trying not to smile. Getting away from everything was exactly what she needed at that point. "Yeah, that sounds really nice."

Rose replaced the filter and shook more coffee into it before placing the cone into her other mug. She took the kettle back from Scorpius before shifting the mug of black coffee towards him. "Would you like to do the honours?"

"Sure," he said, taking the ceramic mug from her and holding it up to read the writing on the side. "Er, why does this say, ' _Accio, coffee_ '?"

"It's accurate," she defended, and he laughed. After he took a couple of sips, she asked, "How is it?"

"It's actually very good," he said, licking his lips. It took an incredible amount of willpower not to kiss him then; sleepy Scorpius, fresh coffee on his tongue and the thought of running her hands through his wild blond hair was unbelievably tempting.

"Do you have any milk?" he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, go ahead." Rose tried to get a grip on herself as he rooted through her fridge and she started pouring the next cup of coffee. She wondered if there were boundaries in this whole friends-with-benefits thing; were they were only supposed to kiss when they were about to have sex, or was anytime acceptable?

She supposed the lines were confusing, because after he'd poured a little milk in his coffee, he'd come back beside her and placed a peck on her neck.

Clearly, Scorpius hadn't thought of the "rules" at all. And she wasn't going to ask.

"You're thinking very hard over there," he observed before kissing her jaw.

"Um." She cleared her throat and focused on pouring the water into the cone. "I'm just thinking about my next interview. My friend Ella got one for me at her job."

"What's it for?"

"Assistant editing. She works at a magazine."

He paused. "But you don't write."

"I don't," Rose confirmed.

"So you're going to apply for an entry-level position," he said deliberately, "where moving up in the company might mean doing one of those things you don't enjoy doing."

She shrugged. "Basically."

"Rose."

"I don't have a choice," she protested, hating that he was probably right. "I'm not getting any other interviews since the positions are closed. All I've got are a few connections, and I need a job."

"Don't we all," he agreed with a grin, holding the mug up to her in solidarity. Miffed at his smugness, she went back to focusing on the kettle; her mug was nearly full, and the coffee was practically calling to her. Perhaps it would help her brain to start functioning properly.

After the last drop of coffee had landed in her cup, she side-stepped Scorpius to grab the carton of cream from the fridge. He was not paying attention; instead, his eyes were on the little cat, licking its own leg in the corner.

"You really did befriend that cat, didn't you?" he asked, seeming half-amused, half-astonished.

"Yes," she said proudly, pouring a little cream into her mug, loving the way it blended and turned into a dark caramel colour. "Didn't he seem so sad?"

"I mean, sure," he said, leaning back on the counter and turning his body to face hers. "But he's always just hissed at me whenever I got a little close."

"That's the beauty of it," Rose said, putting the carton back and shutting the fridge door. "You can't force him to trust you. All I can do is offer what I can, and wait."

"Hmm." He nodded thoughtfully. "All to fulfill your insane desire to be friends with everyone."

"Oi," she said, scowling and smacking his arm, "it's a _cat._ And he's so cute."

"Exactly." He chuckled at her annoyance and gestured to her mug. "All right, let's see how this is. Does this compare to Morning Owl coffee?"

Rose took a cautious first sip. Then a couple more. It was stronger than she was used to, and didn't have that subtle burnt flavour. The cocoa notes that the coffee bag promised were easier to taste, and it was smooth against her tongue.

"It's way better," she said happily, taking a slightly larger sip that nearly burnt her tongue. "Scorpius, I think I might actually be a genius."

"Because you bought a coffee maker?" he asked, amused.

" _And_ I've saved my wallet a gruesome death."

"Yes," he said, nodding, "you must be the first person to ever think of making food and coffee at home to save money. Absolutely brilliant."

"Glad my talents are finally being recognized," she grumbled, secretly a little irritated with herself for not thinking of it sooner. Obviously Scorpius had figured this out ages ago, cooking for himself to save money, started working towards buying a home and had a decent job. She was just a little behind, okay?

Scorpius' shoulders were shaking from laughter.

"Why are you always laughing at me?" she complained half-heartedly. She did like making him laugh. Mostly.

"I dunno," he said, taking another sip of his coffee. He was smiling into the rim of his cup. "I guess you make me laugh."

Rose stared at him, feeling oddly touched.

Things felt so easy with him. She never really had an impression of Scorpius during school, and maybe he was a little defensive and rough around the edges, but he was a good friend. Genuinely a decent person. Genuinely interesting.

Rose turned away, standing beside him at the counter, but observed him out of the corner of her eye. Scorpius has gotten married and divorced, all by the age of twenty-one. Why had he gotten married so young? Most of her friends had been single and happy at the time.

Rose was about to ask about everything, but something stopped her. A small feeling, an intuition. Like he wouldn't trust her anymore.

Well, less than he seemed to trust her to begin with. Why was he so confusing?

 _Ask him, ask him, ask him,_ her brain chanted annoyingly.

"It was kind of strange," Rose said instead, thinking of the night before, "meeting Annika Nott."

"Was it?"

"I haven't heard much about her," she said slowly. His expression was carefully blank all of a sudden, focused on his coffee. "I didn't know what to expect."

"How was it strange, then?" he asked.

"Well, all you've mentioned is that she's your ex," she said as nonchalantly as she could. Like she was clueless about his divorce. "I didn't know you were still friends, actually."

"We've always been friends," he answered. "Are you not friends with your exes?"

"We're not close." Rose wouldn't like to run into her exes on the street, but it wasn't as though they hated each other. "I suppose it's because you're all in the same circle."

He was looking at her intently, like he was trying to figure her out. "I suppose. I've never really thought about it."

"Annika's all right, though," she continued indifferently. "I thought she would've been… I dunno. Worse."

"Why's that?"

"I thought she was the reason why you didn't date for three years." She shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. "I guess I'm just curious."

"That was my own choice," he said, a little uncomfortably. But she had a sense that he didn't mind her asking, because he leaned closer. "I know my decision doesn't make sense to most people."

"It's not that." She nudged him gently with her elbow. "You know I wouldn't judge you, right? We all have some kind of skeleton in the closet."

Scorpius chuckled and put his mug down on the counter. "Well, I –"

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a commotion in the living room. Rose saw a flash of green fire before finding Albus stepping out of her fireplace in his Auror uniform, looking slightly caught off guard by the Floo travel and coughing a little. His dark hair stuck out in every possible angle.

And then Albus was gaping at them, and Rose realized she was standing with Scorpius Malfoy in her nightshirt, and he wasn't wearing a shirt at all.

_Shit._

"You are such a hypocrite," was the first thing out of Albus' mouth.

Rose was immediately on the defense. She came around the kitchen into the living room, and in her peripheral, she saw the cat slink away into her bedroom. Albus looked somewhere between shocked and confused and angry – which was a bit rich, thinking of how he'd blown her off so many times that month.

"What are you doing here?" she asked cautiously.

Albus folded his arms across his chest. "I came to apologize. For a reason I can't quite remember at the moment."

Rose's cheeks scorched. "He's my friend."

"Right, ' _friend_ '," he said, eyes flicking back to where Scorpius was still standing in the kitchen. "So when were going to tell me that?"

"Maybe if you stopped blowing me off, you would've known," Rose bit out, but she was lying. She'd wanted to tell Albus, but as she'd gotten to know Scorpius better, it was clear to her that she would keep that business to herself.

Albus laughed harshly. "So, you can be angry with me for not telling you about the house – which we bought in a spur of the moment when we found a good price – but I can't be annoyed when you keep things from me?"

"Come on, Al," Rose protested. "This doesn't have anything to do with it. And so what if I didn't tell you? You've been absent for months."

"Why is it so difficult for you to understand, Rose?" he said, sounding frustrated. "I'm getting married. My priorities are going to change from having takeaway and drinks every night, okay?"

"Rose is learning how to cook," Scorpius put in unexpectedly, still sipping his coffee in the kitchen.

Albus looked back and forth between them a few times before settling his gaze on Rose. "You are?"

She shrugged. "Do you care?"

"Yes," he said, stung. "What makes you think I don't?"

"I'm not sure," Rose said, feeling the pang of sadness in her chest. "Maybe because you don't exactly approve of my life. You made that pretty clear on Saturday."

He exhaled loudly. "I just said you should get a real job."

"Like my old job wasn't a real job?" she asked indignantly. "I worked hard there. I put in my hours."

"You barely even tried!" Albus pointed out. "You just coasted along, and that's why they could fire you without thinking about it."

Rose glared at him, feeling the tremor in her body from the anger and hurt.

Sure, he'd made his snide comments over the years, but this was different. Albus was always so arrogant about his job, but he'd never been so direct in his disapproval. She was starting to realize that maybe they'd had a rift between them even before the wedding nonsense.

Had they really been growing apart for years?

"So, what?" he asked. "You're just going to find another crap job? Make nothing of your life? Keep hanging out with a –"

"Get out," she cut in immediately, trying to not think of what he was going to say, especially in front of Scorpius. "Maybe you could start keeping your judgemental comments to yourself, Al."

"Seriously?" he said, sounding incredulous.

She ground her teeth. "Seriously. Leave."

They glowered at each other, but Rose didn't want to stand down that time. She always glossed over these things with people, tried to keep herself away from confrontation, but she suddenly, she didn't want to do that anymore.

Albus seemed to deflate after a few moments. "I dunno, Rosie. You've always had all this potential, and then you just threw it all away." Then his eyes slid to Scorpius. "I don't understand it."

"Maybe you shouldn't," she said stiffly.

And maybe she didn't either, but she wasn't going to discuss it with him. Not anymore.

Albus threw Floor powder into her fireplace stepped back into it, leaving. After the flames turned from green to ashes, Rose felt the silence settling in. Then that same silence was pounding in her ears, and she was nervous to turn around and see Scorpius' expression.

It wasn't really fair, but she supposed that's how it was; she was realizing how Albus mistreated her when Scorpius didn't treat her the same way. Albus was always too prideful. Scorpius never made her feel like she was lesser than for being where she was in life. Why wouldn't she take his side?

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, still not looking at him.

"For what?" he asked.

She heard him step into the living room, then behind her and then he was pulling at her wrist and turning her around. He didn't seem angry at all; in fact, he looked… concerned?

"I'm not trying to wreck your private life," she said. "I wasn't going to tell him."

Scorpius shrugged. "So your cousin knows. Is he going to tell everyone?"

"No."

"Then…" He trailed off. "Are you ashamed?"

Her eyes snapped to his, heart suddenly in her throat. "No, of course not."

"I didn't think so." He held her gaze. "Are you okay?"

" _Me_?" she asked, flabbergasted. It _was_ a secret that they were sleeping together, wasn't it? Did Scorpius really not care who knew about that?

"Yes." He hesitated, and she only realized he was still holding her wrist when he tugged her closer. "That argument was… not great."

Her breath caught in her throat when his arms wrapped around her and she found her cheek pressed against his chest. Which was absolutely ridiculous, since they'd been sleeping together for weeks. But he'd never initiated hugging her before; in fact, she'd gotten a sense it wasn't really natural for him?

Never mind, she was definitely being ridiculous.

"I'll be okay," she mumbled into his skin. She'd cried enough tears for Albus over the weekend, and all she felt was numb and disappointment. "I'm just losing my best friend, is all."

"It's just the wedding stuff," he said quietly, and his voice was soothing. "It makes everyone go mad. Talk to him after it's all over."

It occurred to her that Scorpius would know, from actual experience.

"We should check the time," she said, pulling away. Whether he trusted her or not, she didn't want to talk about it at that moment. "I'm sure you have work."

He glanced at the clock on her wall and swore. "I'm getting late. And I have to open the shop today."

"You should go."

"But…" There it was, that concern again. It was in his worried frown, his restless hands fidgeting at his sides, teeth scraping his bottom lip.

"No, I'm fine," she insisted. "You need to get to work. I'll go on my run, get it out of my system."

"I'll come over tonight." He paused. "If you want?"

"Okay," she said, glancing away and trying to control the relief in her voice. She was still on the fence about the whole divorce thing he was hiding from her, but he'd tried to make her feel better with Albus. He'd teased her and had fun with her this morning. They were friends.

And that look he gave her practically made her ache between her legs.

Rose shook her head when he left, trying to snap out of it. She really needed that run.

* * *

After a particularly exhausting run and comforting shower, Rose found herself at Flourish and Blotts.

She hadn't really meant to go there – she was just passing by Diagon Alley, getting more parchment for her letters – but for some reason, that place was calling to her. Sure, it might have been some sort of safety blanket she'd developed since childhood, but that wasn't a problem. Right?

Perhaps it was needless, but she scanned through a couple of books on interviews. The interview at Ella's office was making her a little nervous, and without Ella's referral, Rose knew she wouldn't have gotten that interview at all. After all, she didn't have any experience in that field besides some administration work.

Maybe Albus was right about the state of her career, but she wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction.

She was reading a few tips on battling nerves when an owl – her parents' owl, she recognized with a sigh – dropped a scroll above her. It fell into her hands and the owl flew away again, perching at the top of the banister to the second floor of the bookshop. With her stomach twisting in knots already, she unrolled the letter.

_Rose,_

_I just spoke to a few of my colleagues – don't worry, I didn't mention you – and they are looking to open some positions this coming fall. They would be worthwhile jobs with many chances to climb the ladder, so to speak. I can always put in a good word for you if you would like._

_I know you might not want to move home, but you are always welcome if you can't find something in time. It might even be economical – were you able to save much from your last job?_

_Your dad told me you were at the shop over the weekend and you seemed a little sad. I will see you at Charlotte's bridal shower and hope a few hugs will help._

_Love,_

_Mum_

"Can I help you?"

Rose nearly jumped and crushed the parchment in her fingers, quickly stuffing it in her purse. The shopkeeper – she assumed was the owner, since she'd seen her quite a few times now – was looking expectantly at Rose.

"Um." Caught off guard, Rose looked back at the bookshelf, suddenly infuriated by the whole job-seeking dilemma she'd gotten herself into. "No, thank you. I'm just looking."

"I've seen you come in quite a few times," the owner said. Her white hair was peeking out of her witch's hat as she tipped her head forwards. "Can I make a suggestion for you?"

"For me?" she asked, surprised.

The woman led Rose through to the bookstore, weaving through the maze of bookshelves expertly. Her robes billowed around her, and Rose nearly tripped over book displays in keeping up with the much older lady.

"It's Rose Weasley, isn't it?" she called over her shoulder.

"It is."

"I saw you've been going through a few of the bestsellers," she said as they neared the back, where Rose was all-too-aware of their large fiction selection. "I thought you might like a few recommendations in a similar genre, but a little lesser known."

"I would love that, actually," Rose replied with a smile. "I'm not that picky. I just love good plots and good characters."

The woman spent a few minutes levitating a few titles into Rose's arms, one-by-one. There were a couple she was drawn to immediately: one was centred on a witch during the last wizarding war, hiding out from the infamous Snatchers; the other was a plot following a witch trying to get through the Auror Academy. The second book made her think of Albus, but it looked too promising to not read.

And maybe she'd understand him a little more.

"That should keep you busy," the lady said, looking satisfied. "Are you searching for anything else? Self-help, perhaps?"

"Not those," Rose answered, even though she'd been in the self-help section for those interview books. "Actually, I was thinking of learning a few charms to help with cooking? Are there any good books on those?"

The woman let out a chuckle, and the laughter lines around her eyes crinkled warmly. "Do you have a few hours?"

"I have time," Rose said light-heartedly. She'd planned on sending out more letters and resumes for various positions, as well as a follow-up for the Auror office interview, but didn't have anything else planned for that day.

The bookshop owner showed her several – maybe too many – books on cooking charms. Charms had been Rose's favourite subject, and though she enjoyed cooking, she definitely didn't have Scorpius' intuition. In fact, she knew she was much lazier than him, and the charms would help.

"Thank you for your help," Rose said as she collected the three books in her arms. She hugged them to her chest, and it was oddly comforting.

The woman shook her head. "My pleasure."

"You know, I just got back into reading recently."

"Oh?"

"I had a bit of a hiatus," Rose admitted, "but I dunno, I just woke up one day and wanted to get back into it again. I'd forgotten how much I loved reading."

Really, she'd woken up one day wanting a _lot_ of new things.

"That's the great thing about books," the woman replied with a grin. "They are always going to provide what you need in your life. You just have to find the right one."

"That's true," she said, nodding and looking down at the books in her hands. "I've been escaping, mostly. Real life isn't really desirable at the moment."

"Stories are perfect for that, aren't they?"

Rose chuckled. "I've been reading so much recently that there are books are practically littering my flat. I need a bookshelf or something."

"Do you really?" she said, eyes lighting up. "I can help with that."

"What?"

"I received an extra bookshelf," she said, leading Rose through to the front of the shop. She gestured to the new oak bookshelf seated underneath the till. "I only ordered one – had to replace to old one, it was practically falling apart – but they accidentally gave me this extra one, and they wouldn't take it back. Some sort of inventory issue."

Rose ran a hand on top of the shelf; it seemed sturdy and decent quality. "That would be amazing, actually. It would save me some trouble trying to find one. How much is it?"

"Oh, nothing," the lady said immediately, waving a hand. "I didn't pay for it."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked, surprised. "This is a really nice bookshelf."

"I insist."

She felt a rush of gratitude towards the woman. "Thank you. I really appreciate it, actually. I just lost my job."

"I'm very happy to," she said, her eyebrows rising in surprise. "Just one thing, then."

"What's that?"

"Come back tomorrow for the shelf," she said. Rose was confused by this, but also curious. Besides, she wasn't going to be able to carry the shelf herself; it was quite big, even with magic. She agreed and fished into her purse for the sickles to pay for her purchase.

"Thank you again, ma'am," Rose said happily, gripping her new book tightly as she turned to leave. Whether the woman knew it or not, this little act of kindness had given her a little hope. "I'll see you tomorrow, missus…?

The owner smiled. "Call me Natalie."

* * *

A/N: Hi there! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. There was a lot more fluff than I'd planned, but... let's be honest, there's probably going to be more. Please don't hate me. :P

Let me know what you think, and thank you for reading :)


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

The next morning, Rose's knee was bouncing quite fretfully as she sat outside the boss' office at _Spellbound._ The magazine office was a busy, bustling place with cubicles that barely stood up and memos that were flying absolutely everywhere, only just avoiding poking people in the eyes. She wondered how they managed to get any work done at all.

She was dressed in her standard interview outfit again – the same one she'd worn for the Auror Office – and wished she decided on something a little more comfortable. This workplace seemed to be a little more open and flexible; one wizard had a stuffed bowtruckle on the rim of his hat.

Rose caught Ella's eye, who was working at her desk and gave her a cheery thumbs up. Which did nothing for the nerves, unfortunately.

Thankfully, she seemed to be the only one interviewing for the position that morning; she wasn't sure she could handle the competition at that moment. It might have pumped her up, but probably not. Her mother's letter and the prospect of moving home were making Rose a little panicky.

"Rose Weasley?" A middle-aged man with curly brown hair and a beer belly protruding behind a collared shirt popped his head out of his office. "Come on in."

She took a deep breath and plastered a wide smile on her face as she went inside. The man shut the door behind her before sitting down at a large desk piled with papers. Rose sat opposite him, holding out a hand in greeting. He shook it.

"Colin Roberts," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I take it you're here for the assistant editing?"

"Yes," she replied, nodding.

"What sort of experience do you have?"

"I've been managing reception for several years in the Ministry," she said, making sure her smile didn't droop. She needed to sound confident for this part. "Many of the tasks are similar as an assistant. I follow instructions properly and I keep things organized."

"Important," he said, picking up a piece of parchment off his desk. Rose instantly recognized it as her resume. "Six years?"

"Yes, sir."

"What made you decide to switch tracks?"

"There were layoffs in the Ministry," Rose explained.

"Hmm." He observed her over the page. "What makes you want to work for _Spellbound_?"

Rose cleared her throat; this was a question she hated. She needed a job to pay her bills, but she couldn't very well say that, could she?

"My friend Ella Longbottom has told me for years that she loves it here and how the work environment is very supportive. I'm looking for a position where I could apply my strengths, and this seemed to fit."

He didn't answer; there was a pause as he scanned her document, eyebrows rising as he read. "Congratulations on the N.E.W.T.s, Miss Weasley."

"Thank you, sir."

Mr. Roberts flipped to the next page. Rose could hear the murmur of the office as he read her introduction letter; his eyes scanned the page with remarkable speed. After a minute, he reached for a quill and began making small marks on the parchment that she couldn't make out.

"Would you be interested in investigative journalism?" he said, still scratching on the page. "With an Outstanding N.E.W.T. in Defence Against the Dark Arts, you could do quite well in the field."

"To be honest, I haven't really thought of what kind of journalism I could do," she confessed, trying not to wince; she should have anticipated that question. "I'm more focused on the editing."

"You have the writing skills," he acknowledged, which surprised her. Beyond essays for school and her journal – which mainly consisted of lists, if she was honest – Rose barely did any writing. This man only had her cover letter and resume to assess her writing. "Have you enrolled in any related courses?"

"No." She swallowed nervously. Rose knew her lack of experience in the field would be an issue, but it was an entry-level position; its entire point was experience.

Mr. Roberts put her papers down and intertwined his fingers, looking at her carefully. "Do you intend to enrol?"

"Yes," she lied immediately, "and I'm a quick learner."

"Where are you looking to study?"

Rose felt her face turn red and her palms start to sweat. "I haven't quite researched that yet, sir."

As soon as she said it, she knew it was definitely the wrong thing to say – or at least, the wrong way to say it.

_Shit._

"I see," he said impassively, nodding. "So, Miss Weasley, where do you see yourself in five years? Do you have a specific plan?"

Already caught off guard, Rose found herself fumbling for an answer. She had no fucking clue where was going to see herself in five years; she hadn't an idea where the _last_ five years had gone. It was a blur of friends, falling in love and a pittance of a paycheque.

The very definition of the early twenties, honestly.

"Well. I – I'm hoping to get back on my feet after the layoffs," Rose answered, trying to smile brightly. "I'm looking to take a few courses to expand my horizons and gain some experience. Find some direction."

"Right," he said in that same, aloof tone, flipping through another pile of papers that definitely weren't her resume, cover letter or reference letter. "Do you have any questions for us, then?"

"No, sir."

"Well." He reached out and shook her hand again. "Thank you for coming in. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you for the opportunity," she echoed, her smile so wide it was making her cheeks hurt. "I really appreciate you taking the time to see me."

"Of course," he said, attention back to the papers on the desk. "Close that door on your way out, please."

Rose complied. As she left the building, sending Ella the most cheery, fake thumbs up she could, she couldn't help but feel like her stomach had bottomed out entirely. For some reason, her brain had conked out and nothing about her answers had shown she was capable of doing that job, even if she knew she was.

She was a hundred percent sure she'd fucked up the interview. And probably the rest of her life, too.

She was allowed to be a little dramatic, okay?

* * *

For the rest of the morning, Rose nursed an iced coffee on the patio of Rosa Lee Teabag's, wishing she could spike it with something stronger. She watched various witches and wizards as they strolled by in Diagon Alley, all various ages, wondered how many of them were plagued with the thought of needing a stable job. She knew some of them would be happy living off magically enhanced tents in the middle of a dragon site, like her Uncle Charlie.

Would she be happy with a life like that?

It seemed in her own generation, that most people had gone the safe route. She couldn't think of more than a few classmates of hers that had gone off on wild magical adventures. Perhaps because there was no impending war, many were happy to settle into jobs and routines. Why couldn't she just pick something like that and stick to it? She'd done that for years.

Rose felt a pang, then; there were so many things she wanted to explore, really, if she could let herself.

And then she thought of all the things Albus wouldn't approve of or find responsible — a job that wasn't a nine to five, a trip that wasn't using vacation days, being anything less than perfect — and felt nothing less than infuriated.

The worst part was that he was right. She did need a job so she could pay her bills and rent and not starve, or live off her parents. But she wanted so much out of life she didn't know where to start. She wanted more than just work to pay bills.

Rose had been working for years and had barely travelled, or learned anything new. She'd barely done anything other than what Albus liked to do – takeaway and movies – and now he claimed to not like those things anymore. She spent more time appeasing Travis than herself. She'd even stopped reading, and she yearned for all that lost time.

Maybe it was a good thing Albus had kicked her out; it had clearly woken her up. She wasn't getting younger. Rose needed _something_ in her life, something that made life – and she hated using her mother's favourite word – worthwhile.

But she didn't exactly have the money.

Instead, in that moment, she resolved to buy as many books as she could. Sure, maybe she had a slightly unhealthy obsession with them at the moment, but they really felt like they were one of the only things in her life that made her happy at the moment. She'd spent enough time not doing things that made her happy.

Rose scraped her chair back decisively and dropped off her empty glass inside before heading towards Flourish and Blotts. She was going to start right now; she'd buy as many books as she could, and she had to pick up that bookshelf too. For some reason, this felt like the best decision she'd made in months.

And Scorpius was going to help.

She hoped, anyway.

Rose hadn't seen him since the night before. He'd gone over to her place, taught her how to make fried rice and watched another movie, this time a romantic comedy. He clearly hadn't enjoyed it, but he'd appeased her anyway to cheer her up, only falling asleep near the end. She definitely knew he was working that morning.

The Apothecary was on the way to the bookstore. Normally, Rose wouldn't hesitate to go in right away, but she felt nervous as she approached the building. Scorpius hadn't minded when she sat with his friends, but he'd definitely been surprised.

She peeked through the window of the Apothecary quickly before turning her back and leaning against it. She didn't see Scorpius, but she definitely saw his father. Her parents were right; Mr. Malfoy looked like an older version of Scorpius, but whiter-blond hair that was slicked back with far too much hair product. He didn't seem that scary, though.

Was she crossing a line?

Rose sighed impatiently to herself; she had to get over this whole doubting herself thing; it was getting annoying. They were friends. She went to Albus' office all the time… well, she used to.

The door jingled when she stepped inside. The Apothecary looked much like the one in Hogsmeade, with dark-brown wooden shelving and forest green carpet. Little vials were corked behind glass cabinets and a few cauldrons were smoking and steaming in the corner.

Mr. Malfoy looked up from behind the counter; he was in a white lab coat and seemed to be grinding something with a mortar and pestle. She saw his eyebrows twitch upwards, but he otherwise kept his expression very still. "Good morning."

"Hello," Rose said, feeling more shy than she was comfortable with.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Scorpius," she said, glancing around again in case he popped out of nowhere. "Is he working today?"

"He's in the back," Mr. Malfoy replied, stepping away from the counter. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. "Just a moment."

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as the man disappeared behind a door at the back she hadn't noticed before. The shop was otherwise empty; she supposed Tuesday nearing lunchtime could be a little slow.

Mr. Malfoy came back out immediately and busied himself with his work again. Scorpius emerged from the back room a minute later, looking a bit confused but not altogether surprised or angry. Rose breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hi," Scorpius greeted with a small smile. He was holding an unlabelled glass bottle full of blue liquid that he set down on the counter. "Father, you remember I told you about Rose Weasley? She moved into my building recently?"

This made her smile, though she wasn't sure why.

Mr. Malfoy tipped a nod towards her. "Miss Weasley."

"You can call me Rose."

"Sure, Miss Weasley," Mr. Malfoy said in an annoyingly calm voice. Rose tried not to wrinkle her nose from the formality. It wasn't that she didn't like being referred to with her last name, but there were so many Weasleys that it was jarring for her.

"What's going on?" Scorpius interrupted upon seeing the look on Rose's face, clearly foreseeing the conversation that was about to occur. "Did you need something?"

She shook her head to shake off the irritation. "Will you be off for lunch soon?"

"Yes?" he answered questioningly, checking his watch; it was nearly noon.

"Could I kidnap you?" she joked with a laugh. "I need your help carrying a few things. I'll repay you with lunch."

Scorpius glanced at his father, who was using a scale to measure some sort of root. "I suppose. It's kind of slow today."

Mr. Malfoy shrugged, looking uninterested, but Rose could see his shoulders tensing.

"So, where are we going?" Scorpius asked as soon as they were outside. For some reason, he looked a little uneasy; he'd stopped at the corner of the Apothecary, hands deep in the pockets of his lab coat, even though Rose was clearly trying to move them along.

"Where else?" she replied with a grin. "Flourish and Blotts. I also need to get you a bookmark so you can stop defacing your books like a monster."

He smiled – he definitely couldn't deny the state of his dog-eared books – but still looked hesitant. "Are you sure you want to… you know?"

She waited, but he didn't finish. "What?"

"Do you want to be seen together?" he said quickly, nearly mashing the words together. "I mean, it doesn't matter to me, but _The Daily Prophet_ gossip column tends to use some harsh words against my family."

"I – _what_?" Rose sputtered, crossing her arms in front of her. "We've walked together plenty of times."

"In the Muggle world," he reminded her, lowering his voice pointedly. "And mostly at night."

"Don't you remember a certain party on the beach? Where many of our classmates, including a few reporters for _The Prophet_ , might have seen us?"

Scorpius went red. "It was dark. And I might've had a drink or two."

Rose glowered at him.

"Look, Scorpius," she began in a determined whisper, "I don't care. I don't read _The Prophet_ because half the time, it's full of rubbish about my family. I'm not afraid to be seen with you, okay? We're friends."

"Okay," he said, still sounding apprehensive, jaw tight. She rolled her eyes and started walking, and Scorpius fell into step with her a moment later. Not for the first time, she wished she could read his mind.

As though he could read _her_ mind, he explained, "My father has been very adamant about trying to stay out of the paper as much as possible."

"He has?"

"Yeah," he admitted, lowering his voice again; she leaned into him trying to hear. "It's always been like that. Every year before school, he'd make me promise at least three times that I'd stay out of trouble and not draw attention to myself." He sounded as though he'd recited that last part of that sentence many times.

Rose didn't know what to say. It certainly explained a lot, and she couldn't imagine what it was like to practice that sort of restraint and self-censoring; her family was the loud sort, her included. She wanted to ask the obvious: Wouldn't it be good for Scorpius to be seen with Rose?

But it was a rather rude, pretentious question.

"Anyway," Scorpius said with a loud exhale, unclenching his jaw. "Why do you need help carrying things from Flourish and Blotts?"

It was Rose's turn to feel self-conscious. "You can't judge me for this, okay?"

He shot her a confused expression.

"I've been coming to this realization that I may have lived my life to please my cousin and my ex-boyfriend and my mother and I don't want to do it anymore," she said in one breath.

He nodded, looking unsurprised, which was a little infuriating. "Right."

"I wanted to travel," she continued, looking down at the cobblestone as they walked. "I was thinking of taking some classes at some point, you know? Just to figure something out. I haven't even played Quidditch in a while, either. I sort of lost my hobbies."

"Er, okay."

"My friend Roxy helped my realize this," she explained. "But now I don't really have the money for all of that. And I think I might be unhappier than I realized, so I guess it was a good thing Albus kicked me out, you know?"

"Yeah," he deadpanned, like it was obvious. "So, at Flourish and Blotts, you're…"

"I can't go on a trip or take classes," she said, ignoring his question. "Maybe I'll try to pick up Quidditch again, especially since I've been running –"

"Oh, you're still doing that?" he asked, impressed.

"– and I'm going to use a bit of my savings to buy as many books as I can and fill up a new bookshelf," she finished.

Scorpius chuckled in understanding. "Right, I remember when I did this. I spent a lot of money on a broomstick, even though I hardly ever play Quidditch. Retail therapy."

"Did it work?"

"No."

They reached Flourish and Blotts, stopping in front of the shop. Rose wasn't quite hesitating, but she wasn't exactly reaching for the door handle. She definitely wanted some new books – that was very clear in her mind – but Scorpius might have a point.

But she'd already sent so many applications. When was she going to get a job? When was she going to feel a little better about everything?

"Are you all right?" he asked, looking at her closely.

"Yeah." She was lying, and he knew it.

"What really brought this on?" he prodded.

"I botched my interview this morning," she confessed, unable to look Scorpius in the eye. "It was terrible. It was the five-year plan question that got me."

He snorted. "Who the hell has a five-year plan?"

"Definitely not me," she said, and he gave her a sympathetic smile.

There was a brief pause.

"How'd you choose what you wanted to do?" Rose asked quietly. "Did you always know you wanted to take over the shop?"

"No. It was sort of last resort."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "I applied for jobs for six months after I left Hogwarts. I couldn't get anything."

It felt like the breath was suddenly knocked out of Rose's lungs. " _What_?"

"It's fine," he said indifferently, but Rose was not nearly convinced of that. "You won't have the same problem. Look, don't let these interviews make you think you can't do shit just because they think they know you after talking to you for all of ten minutes."

Rose looked at him gratefully, feeling a rush of affection for him.

She wished she had the words to tell him that he didn't deserve the judgements people made of him, but she had a feeling he wouldn't want to hear it. She could see that his family had done some shady things, but Scorpius himself was relentlessly hardworking. It came with some bitterness and pessimism, but he was a loyal friend.

"So," he said, interrupting her thoughts by gesturing to bookstore, "are you going to do it? Filling a bookshelf sounds like a good idea. I nearly tripped on some of your books the other day, and you scowled at _me._ "

For some reason, that was exactly what she needed to hear.

"Yeah," she decided, "I'm still going to do it."

Scorpius opened the door to the store. "After you."

Natalie was busy with a customer behind the till, but she still sent a smile towards Rose when she walked in. Deciding to speak to Natalie later, Rose led Scorpius towards the back section, the same place where Natalie had recommended a few books to Rose the day before.

"I love these," Rose said, stopping at a display along the way. Her voice was nearly a whisper; even if it wasn't a library, she couldn't help but keep quiet around books, in case someone was reading. "I think I've read nearly half of them. They're on my list."

Scorpius didn't seem fazed at all by her giddiness. "How long does it take you to read an average book?"

"I dunno," she replied, "if it's really good, maybe a few hours?"

"Wow," he said, taken aback. "Do you ever read more than one book a night?"

"No," she admitted, "I get too invested in the characters and the plot, you know? I usually need a little break in between so I can move on from the last story."

Scorpius chuckled. "That's cute."

Rose's words caught in her throat and she busied herself in looking though another bookshelf.

"Maybe you should get a library card?" he suggested after a moment. "I mean, retail therapy or not, it would probably be a good way to read."

"I want to build up my collection again," she said. "I mean, I love the library and I do have a card, but there's something about owning the books that's special."

He shrugged, examining a few spines himself.

"What kind of books do you like to read?" she asked as they looked around.

Scorpius looked sheepish. "I don't read that much anymore."

"Why not?"

"I've never been a reader," he said, sounding a little defensive, "not like you. I like books, but I usually read things with a means to an end."

"Like cookbooks," she said with a grin. "That's all right, Scorpius. I don't hate you because we don't share the same interest."

"Okay, then."

"As long as you have a healthy respect for books and hold them in high regard above all else."

He snorted. "I'll keep that in mind."

Rose picked out a few books she'd been looking over for the past few weeks. Normally she paced herself, but that day, she piled books in her arms right away. After the fourth book, however, she found herself faltering.

"Done?" Scorpius asked.

"I – hey, I can carry these," she said crossly. She'd been distracted and let him take the books from her arms. "I'm perfectly capable of holding a few books. They're not heavy."

"I know you are, and you're a very strong woman," he said, clearly trying not to grin. "But I'm attempting to be helpful. Go on, I thought you wanted more."

Rose sighed. The adrenaline from earlier had died down considerably, and she was doubting herself again. That really did need to stop, as soon as possible; she'd always been comfortable being impulsive. "I dunno. Maybe you're right. Retail therapy doesn't work."

"I know." He chuckled. "But that's okay. Sometimes it's okay to indulge yourself, and knowing you, you were going to get them eventually. You'll even read them all."

"Of course I'll read them all," she replied instantly, frowning. "Why wouldn't I?"

He nudged her with his shoulder. "Pick one more and be done for now. I'm getting hungry."

Rose conceded and put a last book in Scorpius' arms, making him grunt. As they waited in line to pay, Rose picked a bookmark for Scorpius that had dragons on it, which he seemed to like, but didn't see the need for.

As they reached the till, Natalie hurried away and up the stairs, calling, "I'll grab your bookshelf, Rose!"

Scorpius stared after her. "Why does she know you? What bookshelf?"

"I might have spent a little too much time here," Rose admitted with a laugh. "She offered to give me this extra bookshelf today."

"Oh, _that's_ why I'm here," he said in realization, dumping the books on the counter.

"I could've charmed it lighter, I suppose."

"You can do that?" he asked, referring to the rather difficult charm they'd learned in Charms class near the end of their seventh year. "I never got a hang of that one. I just end up levitating things."

"Charms was one of my favourite subjects," she said, "but I figured I'd still need help. The box is probably too big for me to carry."

Rose was correct. Natalie levitated a large cardboard box down the steps. It wasn't so heavy that Rose couldn't carry it on her own, especially after the charm, but it was large enough that it would be difficult for her to carry it several blocks. Especially through the Muggle part of London.

Luckily, Scorpius seemed up for the challenge. He caught the box as it hovered in front of them and put it down onto the ground.

"I see you've brought a friend to help," Natalie said cheerfully as she started to ring up the books at the till.

"Yep," Rose replied, rooting through her purse for the change. "Are you sure you don't want anything for the bookshelf?"

"Absolutely not," Natalie refused, taking the coins from Rose. "But in exchange, I would like for you to give my suggestion a serious thought."

"Er…" Rose felt like she was missing something. "What suggestion?"

"This." With a flourish, Natalie reached under the till and brought up a rather large, leather-bound textbook, and it made a loud _thump_ as it made contact with the countertop. On the front in silver lettering, it read, ' _Numerology and Economics.'_

Oh, no.

"I'm _terrible_ at Arithmancy," Rose stammered. Natalie didn't seem to be listening; the older witch merely brought up a pamplet.

"You mentioned you were having trouble finding a job," Natalie said, pushing both the textbook and the pamphlet towards Rose. "This is a self-study course. You can be certified within a month and give your resume a boost."

Rose was trying to find the words to refuse, but Scorpius had shifted the cardboard box in his hands and was looking at the textbook. "Oh, I did this years ago."

"You did?" Rose asked, surprised. "Did you take Arithmancy at Hogwarts?"

"Of course not," he said, like the idea was ridiculous. "My father had me do this for the certification. There's some accounting in there too, it's kind of a standard to run a shop."

"Your family owns the Apothecary, correct?" Natalie questioned, and Scorpius nodded.

"I dunno," Rose said uneasily. She was already awful with Arithmancy, and now she had to learn it alone? "How much is the course and book?"

Natalie flipped through the pamphlet, searching for the price. "Fifty galleons."

Rose's eyes widened; it was less than the Hogwarts textbooks, but that was still a hefty sum. She tried to refuse, in the nicest way possible.

"She'll do it," Scorpius' voice cut loudly over her spluttering. Rose immediately glared at him, but he glared back. "It's a good investment, career-wise."

Natalie beamed at Scorpius, looking so thrilled that Rose shut her mouth. Scorpius had a point, but it was irritating. Tough love was always irritating.

Natalie gave her a box for all her books as she forked over the money. Rose was annoyed enough that she didn't charm the box with the bookshelf. He didn't complain; it didn't seem like it was very heavy for him, but she could see him sweating as they entered the Leaky Cauldron.

"I don't like you very much right now," Rose said as they crossed the pub. "You do know I nearly failed Arithmancy, right?"

"This is probably easier," he said, wiping his forehead before heading out into Muggle London.

"How would you know? You didn't take it in school."

"That's exactly my point. Even I got certified, without any experience in the subject."

Rose didn't speak to him for the rest of the way back to their building, not until he'd carried the box up three flights of stairs. Scorpius was out of breath when he set it down in her living room.

"Okay, now I forgive you," Rose said, trying not to laugh.

"I probably deserved that," he admitted, "but if you fail, I'll pay you back."

"What?"

"It's only fair," he said, wiping his forehead again before checking his watch.

Rose shook her head in refusal. She supposed he was right – he'd practically pressured her into it, along with Natalie's help – but she would never accept his money.

"Thanks for your help," she said, stepping towards him. He looked kind of sexy with the sheen on his skin. "Are you late getting back?"

"I don't have a set lunch. Perks of working with family."

Rose tugged him closer by his collar – still in full uniform, no wonder he was so hot – until they nearly bumped together. Her mouth covered his in the next moment, hungrily nipping at his bottom lip. He responded eagerly, his stubble grazing her chin, but all too soon, he was pulling away.

"Come over tonight," he suggested, out of breath all over again. "I heard you owe me lunch?"

Scorpius dragged her out, his stomach growling.

Perhaps she hadn't really done retail therapy in the way she'd expected. But she did feel a little better – enough so, that after Scorpius had gone back to work, she'd felt motivated to spend the rest of the afternoon working on applications. She hadn't cracked open the Arithmancy textbook yet, but it was something.

Maybe things were going to get better. They had to eventually, right?

* * *

" _Rose_." Scorpius' grumpy, sleepy voice called over from the other side of the bed, his spine turned away from her. "Stop moving."

She rolled onto her back with a sigh. Rose had been tossing and turning for what felt like hours, unable to get comfortable or fall asleep. Her brain hadn't been unable to turn off in the slightest.

She'd ended up sleeping with Scorpius that evening, and even though her friends had warned her against spending the night, there she was, still in his bed. The crushing loneliness was particularly difficult that day, and the last thing she wanted to do was face it. Especially alone in her bed.

So, she stayed.

"Sorry I woke you," she whispered to him.

"It's okay," he said, yawning as he turned around to face her.

"I can go back to my bed," she offered reluctantly, stretching her legs. "You have work tomorrow."

"Stay, Rose," he said, putting a hand on her arm under the sheets to stop her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "Just can't sleep."

"Something seems to be on your mind."

Rose sighed, turning on her side to look at him properly. She couldn't make up her mind whether he'd want to hear it at all – she'd complained just about enough, if she was honest – or if she was just blowing things out of proportion and was about to embarrass herself. It could go either way.

"Tell me," he urged, eyes closing as he spoke.

"I just… don't know what I'm doing," she said quietly. "I keep saying I'm reinventing myself, but I'm just losing a bit of weight and buying shit."

He let out a soft chuckle. "I know."

"I keep thinking about why I _have_ to be something," she continued, turning to stare at the ceiling. "My mum seems to think there's some grand plan that involves a retirement fund but I've got nothing."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She thought for another moment, then sighed. "Nothing."

"You just haven't figured the job stuff out yet," he said, voice still rough from sleep. "It takes time."

"Maybe." Rose watched as Scorpius reached over and tugged on the end of a curl of hair, playing with it. "I just don't want to be a disappointment."

"To your mother?"

"Sure," she said, "but also… I don't want to look back and wish I'd done things differently."

"You don't even know what you want to do," he pointed out, letting go of her hair. "You can't go back and figure it out faster."

"Like I said," she reiterated, "disappointment. Regrets."

He laughed again. "Rose, I dunno. I have a lot of regrets in life, too. I think we just deal with them and try to move forward."

"So, disappointment is inevitable," she said sadly, "and I'm basically guaranteed to look back and regret parts of my life."

"You already do," he said, shrugging.

"This isn't very helpful," she joked, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. "I thought you were supposed to have most of the answers or something."

He snorted. "I wish."

A silence fell between them.

"You can just be you, Rose," he suggested after a moment. "There are a lot of identity issues that come from having a job, but it doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to be defined by your career."

Rose hummed. "You have a point."

"And maybe it doesn't mean much, coming from me, but you're just fine the way you are."

She let out a long breath she hadn't known she was holding, feeling the tension release in her bones. "It means a lot, actually."

He didn't reply.

"I'm so glad we're friends," she whispered.

"Me too," he said, smiling.

His words kept echoing in her mind, hours after she'd found peace in her limbs and he'd fallen asleep beside her, face buried into his pillow. She found herself tracing his tattoo with the tip of her finger, barely touching it, but wondering.

' _You're fine the way you are._ '

* * *

A/N: Hii! I'm sorry this is so late, I kind of hit a bout of writer's block with the plot and it took forever to work that out. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and let me know if you have done this whole retail therapy thing… I know I have :P

Next chapter will be out super soon, I promise! I think Sunday. Please hold me to that.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

Whether Natalie liked it or not, Rose had taken to studying and working on applications in Flourish and Blotts. In the afternoons when she was just about finished looking at the same four walls of her flat, she'd grab her old rucksack that she'd used in Hogwarts, her textbook, a notebook, another book for when she got bored and made sure to pack a quill or two.

Luckily, Natalie never seemed to mind that Rose would claim a corner table at the shop for a few hours each day. She greeted her with a grin and in between customers, she would chat with Rose about the newest releases, the weather and whatever else she would think of before another customer would come in or when Rose tried to concentrate again.

The Arithmancy course was tedious. Rose knew it would be, but after thinking it over, she realized Scorpius was probably right. In all her years _with_ income, she hadn't invested in herself; better late than never, right?

Surprisingly, though, the course was actually not difficult at all. In fact, she realized that without her professor's terrible droning and rather dull explanations, Rose was able to concentrate on the material for the first time. Sure, some of it she remembered from school, Natalie helped a little bit, and maybe some of it was interesting now that she was older, but she _understood_.

Rose understood Arithmancy – who would've thought?

She'd made it through the first unit of the course before shutting her book triumphantly, extremely pleased with herself. The _thump_ sound from the act caught the attention of Natalie, who made her way over from the front of the store to Rose's corner.

"Finished?" she asked as she approached Rose's table.

"For now," she replied happily, stuffing the book back in her bag. She'd made good progress, and even though she'd gotten a couple of rejections that morning, she was in high spirits. "Thanks for your help earlier, I think I understand the math now."

Natalie smiled at her. "How's that bookshelf coming along?"

"Um," Rose said sheepishly, standing up and swinging her rucksack over her shoulders. "I actually haven't gotten around to it yet."

"What's the hurry, anyway?" she said good-naturedly.

"I wanted to build it by hand," she said, cheeks turning red. "I know it's a little silly, but I kind of think of all my good furniture pieces as milestones. And I think this one means something to me."

That, and she liked what Scorpius had said about how doing things Muggle way could be cathartic, and that's why he cooked the Muggle way. She liked his ideas, she was finding out.

"A lot of young witches and wizards seem to have this idea," Natalie mused, "the first set of cookware. Your first bottle of good wine, perhaps."

"Yes," Rose agreed. "My friend – you met him the other day – he thinks it's rubbish, but I think it's a nice way to move forward in life. Especially if you're not getting married or whatever."

"I take it there's no one special in your life," Natalie guessed, giving Rose a gentle smile.

"No." She sighed. "But everyone else is getting engaged, married… it's like a virus."

Natalie laughed. "It's only the beginning. It won't end until you're nearly thirty-five, but then the babies start coming."

"I actually love babies," Rose said, grinning, "and I do want to get married one day, but I haven't found the right person, not to mention I still need to find a job."

"Which is why you're doing that course," Natalie pointed out, and Rose agreed. Really, it was all part of her plan to reinvent herself, even if she hadn't exactly seen an Arithmancy course coming in her trajectory.

"Well, I think you're right," Natalie continued. "It's important you figure out your next step. You don't need to establish your entire career before marriage and children, but it's nice to have some savings in hand."

"You don't?" Rose repeated, surprised.

"Of course not." Natalie chuckled as she shook her head. "You don't know how many different jobs and career paths you'll take, Rose, but chances are that you won't just do one thing. Life throws a lot of curveballs, and sometimes you have to be okay with not knowing what will happen."

Rose nodded. "Like Forrest Gump."

"Who?"

"He's this character in this Muggle film," Rose explained, but caught a glance at her wristwatch; she was getting late already. "Actually, could I tell you about it tomorrow?"

"Oh, you're heading out now?" Natalie asked as Rose pushed her chair seat back under the table and checking she hadn't left anything behind.

"I'm going shopping with my friends," Rose said, making a face. "We're looking for outfits for our friend's bridal shower and bachelorette party."

On one hand, she loved seeing Roxanne and Skye – Charlotte and Ella had already found their outfits – but at the same time, shopping for clothes with them was a little difficult. Neither of them had a rounder middle to hide, did they?

"Sounds like fun," Natalie replied, walking with Rose to the front of the shop. "When are they?"

"The bridal shower is this weekend, and I _think_ the bachelorette party is next week?" Rose said, shrugging. "I dunno. I did more of the planning in the beginning of the wedding."

Natalie had already heard from Rose about Albus and Charlotte's wedding. "So you might be free on Sunday morning, yes?"

"Yes," Rose said slowly.

"Not to say you can't refuse," Natalie reassured quickly, "but I could use a hand that morning. I'm expecting a renowned author for a signing, and my sister just sent an owl explaining she can't come."

Rose had seen the signs around the shop. "None of the other employees are available?"

"This time of the year tends to be a little slow," she admitted. "My employees are usually on holiday until later in the summer, when the Hogwarts back-to-school crowd starts rushing in."

"Right,' Rose said, feeling a nostalgic pang. She almost wished she could go back to school again.

Almost. If homework didn't exist.

"If you're available Friday morning, I could compensate you for your time," Natalie offered. "With my bad knees, going up and down those stairs is a nightmare. I need a bit of help setting up, and maybe running the till."

"Really?" She had never done a freelance job, and it was intriguing. "I haven't any experience, if I'm honest."

"I have a sense that you're quick to catch on," Natalie said with a grin. "I'll count you in, then?"

"I'll be there," Rose promised.

As she set off towards Madame Malkin's where Roxanne and Skye were waiting, Rose couldn't help feeling thrilled. Natalie didn't know Rose very well, but she'd gotten the sense she could give Rose a job for a couple of hours, trust her to do it properly and to handle the money.

That meant something, didn't it?

Inexplicably, Rose's mind shifted towards Scorpius, _again._ She couldn't shake off the little pinch in her gut that he didn't trust her. She'd tried to ask him, hint at Annika Nott, prod him into it – but nothing. That man was either oblivious or didn't trust Rose at all, which hurt more than a little.

But he'd been there for her when she needed someone. She could be patient with him.

Rose saw Roxanne and Skye immediately as she went in through the door, mid-way through the shop on the right, standing in front of a rack of floral dresses. Roxy was holding up a white dress with large, hot-pink peonies drawn delicately across the fabric. Skye, predictably, was shaking her head.

"I just think the flowers are too big," Skye said as Rose approached them.

"They're fine," Roxy argued back, holding up the dress to her and looking in the mirror. "Anyway, I like the shape."

"The shape is so… _poufy,_ " Skye said, wrinkling her nose like it was a bad word.

"Rose!" Roxy exclaimed, holding up the dress so Rose could see it properly. It was not that poufy, but for Skye, the slight flare of the dress was probably off-putting. "Tell me, yay or nay?"

"I say try it on," Rose recommended, giving Skye and Roxanne hugs in greeting. "Merlin, it feels like it's been ages since I've seen you two."

"Me too!" Roxy agreed.

Skye rolled her eyes. "I dunno, I'm pretty sure it's been a week. I could go another week without seeing your faces."

"That's not true," Roxy said, grinning at her. "You'd miss us."

"Eh." But they could see that Skye was trying not to laugh.

They continued looking for outfits. The shopkeeper seemed to be busy with a robe fitting, so the three girls flipped through the racks of dress robes, slowly collecting pieces to try on. Roxanne began to tell them about her engagement party.

"I'm thinking about hosting it towards the end of the summer," Roxy said as Skye held up a fitted light grey dress in front of a mirror. "That way, Albus and Charlotte will be back from their honeymoon, it will be just before school starts and everyone will want one last celebration before the summer ends."

Rose frowned. "Won't you be a little busy preparing for school?"

"It's just a dinner," Roxy said, shrugging. "It's not as big as the bridal shower this weekend, and we're doing a buffet. None of this 'per plate' nonsense."

Skye took the dress she'd been testing in the mirror and folded it over her arm. "This bridal shower is going to be boring as shit."

" _Skye_ ," Roxanne chastised.

"It's true," she defended, holding her hands up and nearly dropping her dress selections. "It's going to be a bloody family reunion for you as usual, but then Charlotte's Muggle relatives are going to be everywhere."

"That's not such a big deal," Rose said, confused. "I mean, it's not as though we use a lot of magic at parties."

"I guess," Skye relented.

"Rose, your date is a Muggle, isn't he?" Roxanne asked.

Rose paused with the floral dress she was currently examining. She'd nearly forgotten about him entirely. "Oh, yeah. Nathan knows about magic though."

"By the way, how did it go with him?" Skye asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"With Nathan?" Roxanne turned to Rose questioningly. "I didn't know you were actually interested in him."

"I'm not," Rose clarified quickly. "Skye coerced me into a date with him."

"I did not," Skye protested, dramatically offended.

"It was practically blackmail."

"Oh," Roxy said, considering this. "Well, good work, Skye."

Rose elbowed Roxy, and Skye snickered.

"Well, tell us," Skye prodded as they turned back to searching the clothing racks. "Was he as everything as imagined?"

"Er, not exactly," Rose confessed with a laugh. "We don't have much in common. He's nice and attractive, I suppose."

But Nathan was attractive in a very intimidating way, in the way Rose knew that every girl in the room would wonder: why would he choose _her_? She knew that because she'd been with a man like that, and somehow, she knew her own insecurities didn't handle it very well. Not to mention that he was obviously quite well-off, and probably wouldn't react well to Rose's own confusion in her career.

"You sound smitten," Skye said sarcastically, making Roxanne laugh.

"It's just a favour to Charlotte," Rose reiterated, holding up a yellow sunflower dress. Yellow was such a cheery colour, but she wasn't sure she could pull it off with her bright hair.

Roxanne cleared her throat. "I'd go with the green one, I think?"

"Good call," Rose said, nodding.

"Why are you doing Charlotte a favour?" Skye asked, baffled. "I thought you helped a ton with the engagement party, plus you sat through all those colour-coordination meetings where you sat around and thought about tablecloth."

Rose raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You mean the decorations?"

"Whatever," Skye dismissed. "You're not even the maid of honour." This was true; Ella was the maid of honour, of course.

"I dunno," Rose said, draping the dress over her arm and following as they headed towards the dressing rooms in the back of the shop. "Ella's done much more than I have. Besides, it's just a friendly date to these events, no big deal."

Roxanne and Skye silently exchanged looks.

"Besides," Rose added, "I'm more disappointed that I have to help out with the bridal shower all day. Al asked me, and he seemed desperate."

"I thought you were arguing with Albus?" Roxanne asked. "Did you make up?"

Skye tilted her head. "What're you rowing with Al for?"

Rose heaved a sigh as they plopped down on a plushy leather couch near the dressing rooms, waiting for a room to free up. She adjusted the metal hangers in her hands, and they clanged together as she explained the entire situation to her friend.

Skye swore. "That boy is getting his arse whooped the next time I see him."

"At the bridal shower?" Rose said, giggling.

"Yes."

"Albus is so stupid sometimes," Roxanne said, shaking her head in disbelief. "His future wife is a freelance magical painter. Your job was just as real as hers."

"Yeah, well…" Rose shrugged. "Al's got it in his mind that I have _potential_ or whatever. Maybe he's just mad I didn't go to the Auror Academy with him."

Roxanne snorted. "Probably, actually. Or that you're not as miserable as he is."

"Did he at least apologize?" Skye asked before heading to a free changing room.

"He was going to," Rose said, ears turning crimson when she remembered, "but he changed his mind."

"How come?"

"He didn't know about the whole… you know, the friends with benefits thing," Rose admitted with a weak smile. "I didn't tell him, and now he's angry about it."

"Pot calling the kettle black, isn't he," Roxanne mused with a snort. "Well, we know Al. He'll be knocking on your door any day, now, won't he? He hates feeling guilty."

Rose wished Albus would knock; she had start being more careful about her Floo.

Skye threw the curtain back from her changing stall and revealed the form-fitting grey dress. After years of Quidditch and physical training, it showed off her toned figure quite nicely.

"I like it," Rose said, and Roxy nodded in agreement. "Is that for the bridal shower or the bachelorette party?"

"Both."

" _Both_?" Roxy said with a scoff. "Come on, Skye, you can't wear the same thing to both events."

"There are too many damn events," Skye said, stepping back into her stall and swinging the curtain shut. "We had to buy so many outfits for one fucking wedding, okay? I'm rebelling."

"It'll be strange," Roxy called over, sending Rose an exasperated look. "All the pictures will look kind of strange, too.

"It's not strange, it's just minimalist."

Rose laughed.

"Speaking of which," Rose said, suddenly remembering, "when is the bachelorette party? I thought we were going to do it before the wedding."

"Right, so this is the situation," Roxy said, turning on the couch seat to face Rose. "The wedding is on the Sunday, right? And Charlotte's got a whole spa day planned out before the rehearsal dinner on the Saturday."

"And we can't do it on the day before," Skye added as she came back out of the dressing room, and Roxanne headed in. "I plan on getting absolutely pissed, but Charlotte will probably murder me if I'm hungover on the weekend."

Rose shrugged. "Let's take Friday off and do Thursday evening, then. We'll have an entire day to recover."

"That's what I'm thinking. That's when the bachelor party is, anyway."

"Does Charlotte know?"

"No," Roxy called from inside the changing room, voice slightly muffled. "We've actually got plans to surprise her. Ella's in on it, so she's taking care of the details."

Rose made a mental note to not plan any interviews she might get for the wedding week. Not that her prospects were looking up, honestly.

Roxanne came out in the first dress she'd picked out with the peonies. She was right about the cut of the dress; she was quite thin but somehow still curvy at the same time – something Rose was always secretly jealous of – and the dress flattered her. The dress was off-white, and it went well against Roxy's dark skin.

"I _love_ it," Rose said admiringly as Skye said, "Ugh, it _is_ poufy."

Roxanne rolled her eyes but was smiling as she went back into the dressing room.

Predictably, Roxanne went with that dress for the bridal shower and a sparkly wine-coloured dress for the bachelorette party. That darker red shade had always been Roxanne's favourite to wear.

Rose felt the familiar dread when it was her turn in the dressing room, but felt somewhat relieved that Charlotte or Ella weren't there. They were never critical about Rose in the slightest, but it was always nice when it was just Rose, Roxanne and Skye. Just like at Hogwarts.

She tried on the sunflower dress first, but the cut was so unflattering that she didn't even bother to show her friends. She changed out immediately into a pale blue dress that flowed out when she spun around. Which she did, in the dressing room, many times.

Hey, it was fun.

Rose shoved back the curtain and headed towards the mirror. It looked nice to her. "What do you think?"

"Whoa," Skye said, looking surprised all of a sudden. "Rose, you know you've lost a little weight, right?"

Rose looked in the mirror again, sceptical. "What?"

"It's true, actually," Roxy said with an encouraging smile. "You can't really notice in your usual outfits, but this one accentuates your waist a little more than usual."

"I don't see anything…" Rose turned in the mirror, trying to understand what they were saying. She supposed the dress fit pretty well – it _did_ accent the waist more than usual, and she didn't mind it so much as she normally would – but she couldn't really see a difference otherwise.

"The only thing is that this dress kind of poufs out, too," Skye said, and Roxanne scowled at her. "But I like it otherwise."

"Me too," Roxy agreed.

Rose went to change into an olive green dress that was much more appropriate for the bachelorette party. It had folds around the middle, which she appreciated, and both Skye and Roxanne approved. It wasn't Rose's favourite, but her other option was to go to the more expensive Twilfitt and Tatting's. Or shop more in Muggle London.

Rose was rather favouring the option to shop _less._

And maybe she wasn't as thin as Skye, and maybe she didn't have Roxanne's perfectly proportioned body, but maybe that was okay. What Scorpius had told her had been echoing in her mind lately: _You're fine the way you are._

Maybe it was true. He seemed to be right about a lot of things.

* * *

After dinner with her friends, Rose spent her evening sitting in bed and reading. It was close to midnight when she heard a knocking at her door, then the handle turn open. She knew it was Scorpius, but she still frowned at him in confusion when he slipped into her bedroom. He was only in a t-shirt and shorts that were clearly for sleeping.

"You need to start locking your door," he said, lifting the covers and burying himself in her sheets beside her.

"True." She poked his mass. "What's up?"

"Had an argument with my father." He emerged again, taking the book and bookmark out of her hands and placing her bookmark inside. "Don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure?" she asked, watching him toss the book onto her nightstand. She'd never seen him that angry before; his ears were red, he was clearly restless and he could barely look at her in the eye. "Seems like it might help."

"It won't," he said shortly. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into his lap. "I want you."

"Clearly," she joked, taking off his glasses for him. He let her put them safely aside before ducking his head and kissing her hard, bruising her lips before she could say another word. She pushed him away. " _Ow._ "

"What?" Scorpius seemed to suddenly snap out of his anger. "What happened?"

"Could you slow down?" she asked, rubbing her mouth.

"Sorry," he said guiltily. He reached around to brush his thumb over her bottom lip, then trailed his hand to her chin and kissed her much more carefully. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his circled her waist.

Her knees slid to either side of his hips as he pulled her closer. This had the effect of bringing her flush with his chest, and while Rose did enjoy this, her friends had gone for dinner earlier and she was still extremely full from the meal. It was slightly uncomfortable.

It was bearable until Scorpius leaned her back on the mattress, and she suddenly felt the Pad Thai dangerously sloshing in her stomach. As he moved to bring his weight on top of her, she sat up rather suddenly, bonking her forehead with his nose.

"Sorry!" she said as he moved back, holding his nose. There was no blood, but she still felt terrible. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, rubbing it gingerly. "Are _you_ okay?"

She grimaced, embarrassed. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, I'm fine." He let go of his nose and looked at her. "You know, if you're not in the mood, you can just tell me. I'm not an animal."

"It's not that," she said, blushing. "I just ate a little too much at supper."

"That's okay."

"You can stay," she offered quickly. He was obviously not in the best state of mind, but she didn't want to seem like she would kick him out just because they weren't having sex that night. "We can play chess or something."

Scorpius rubbed his hands over his eyes before putting his glasses back on. "I guess. Sure."

"Wait, really?" She grinned at him. "I'm pretty good, and I'm not going to let you win."

"Let's do it," he said dully, crossing his legs and sitting up.

Rose set up the game on the bed in between them. She'd had her chessboard forever, gifted by her father many Christmases ago. This was one of the things she and her father bonded over, besides Quidditch. She gave the white side to Scorpius.

He moved a pawn forward to begin the game. "I haven't seen you in a few days."

"Yeah, I've been studying," she told him as she moved her knight. "I'm apparently doing a course now, thanks to a certain _someone_."

Scorpius didn't look the least bit regretful. "How's that going?"

"It's actually not that bad," she said, shrugging. "I mean, I know you told me it wouldn't be, but I didn't believe you for a minute."

"I can help one of these days," he offered, moving another piece. "I don't think I'll be much help, though."

"Natalie's been helping me – you know, the owner of Flourish and Blotts? – and I've been studying there for a few hours. She doesn't mind at all, and sometimes she helps me through the accounting stuff."

He raised his eyebrows. "You _do_ befriend everyone."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It's not." He held her gaze. "Not at all."

They commanded the chess pieces. Scorpius played slowly, while Rose was quick to strike his players down. The way he chose his moves was extremely confusing, almost random, and it was irritating her.

"Do you even have a strategy?" Rose questioned, eyes flitting across the board.

"Nope."

She took his rook triumphantly, but his expression remained stoic.

"Were you in the chess club at school?" he asked.

"For a couple of years, but it was a boys club. I quit after they kept saying girls can't play chess."

"That's unfortunate."

"Nah, I started playing Quidditch after that, and it took all my free time." She frowned before letting her pawn take down his pawn. "We should play sometime. We both haven't played Quidditch in forever, right?"

"Sure." He waited a few moments before commanding his bishop to kill Rose's pawn.

She overtook the bishop. "My dad and I used to play chess all the time when I was a kid."

"Really?"

"We're pretty close." She bit her lip, unsure if she should test the waters. "Are you close with your parents?"

"Yes."

"Well, I suppose you have to be, working with your dad all the time."

He sighed. "Rose, just ask. I know you're dying to."

"I dunno what you mean," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I blame you for the fight, by the way," he said as he moved another chess piece.

" _Me_? What did I do?" she asked, bewildered. Then there was a sinking feeling in her gut. "Wait, is this because I went to the Apothecary the other day?"

"What? No." He tore his eyes from the board. "No, I was joking. Sort of."

"Scorpius…"

He closed his eyes and leaned forward, propping his head in his hands. "Look, you got all this shit in my head, okay? Everything about trying to do something interesting with your life and not wanting to regret anything."

"Oh." Rose wasn't sure if she should apologize for that. "What happened?"

"It was just a suggestion," he said, speaking into his fingers. "I just _suggested_ I could apply for a couple of those programs, maybe some of those Ministry grants again. He completely lost his mind."

"Which programs?"

"There were some research programs in medicinal Herbology." He sounded dejected as he explained. "I applied to some after graduation, but I was rejected from all of them. Some of them required Potions Mastery, but I didn't have an Outstanding in my Potions N.E.W.T. and I couldn't take the courses."

Rose winced. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He lifted up his head, and his face was red. "I could have raised that grade with night classes. I could have appealed those decisions, figured out what went wrong. But I kind of just settled for working with my father, and he was thrilled."

"I guess I can see why," Rose said, stretching out her legs beside the chessboard, game forgotten. Scorpius mirrored her. "Those programs were insane for rejecting you."

He shook his head. "I didn't get that many N.E.W.T.s. I bet you got loads."

"Anyway," Rose said, feeling the burn in her cheeks from his accurate guess, "You do have a chance, I think. Especially after working in an Apothecary for years… why was your dad so angry?"

"I dunno." Scorpius exhaled loudly. "Actually, that's a lie, I do know. He's bitter about what everyone says about our family. He thinks this would be a terrible idea and it would just bring more bad press."

"I'm not really sure if I see the logic in that," she said apologetically.

"My father's not that logical." He regarded her carefully. "I just think that I shouldn't let what some biased reporters control what I do."

"I agree."

He seemed hopeful at that. "Do you really think I should apply? I'm not sure if there's even a point. I'd probably just end up working at the Apothecary again."

"Why not?" she asked, frowning. "Sure, I think you should probably try to get some more Outstanding N.E.W.T.s if that's what they require, but I don't think you should let anything stop you."

"That's what I told him." Scorpius looked away. "Anyway, after I brought it up, he wouldn't let it go, and the next thing I know he's telling me not to come back in until Monday. He claims that it might clear my head."

"Won't your dad need help in the store?"

"My mother will help," he explained. "She used to run the shop with him, actually, but she's an art curator now. She comes back when I go on holiday or something."

"When's the last time _you_ went on holiday?" Rose teased, poking him in the leg.

Scorpius grinned – _finally_ – in return.

"It might be good for you," she continued, not quite able to imagine him on vacation, but liking the idea anyway. "Having a few days off never hurt anyone, right?"

"I'm glad you feel that way," he said pointedly. She ignored the jab.

"What will you do?"

"Go to the cottage, probably. The heat wave is burning everything," he admitted.

They finished the game, and despite Scorpius' lack of strategy that annoyed the hell out of Rose, she managed to eventually give him a checkmate. He put up a reasonable fight, which made for a satisfying game.

"That was fun," he told her as she waved a _Reparo_ spell at the broken chess pieces and put it away in her closet. "I can't remember the last time I played chess."

"I'm glad I cheered you up." When he made no movement to get up, she asked, "Do you want to stay?"

"No," he replied automatically, too quickly. "I mean. Unless you want me to."

"It is kind of late." Which was laughable, as he lived just across the hall.

To her astonishment, he didn't laugh at all. "Yeah."

Unsure what to do next, she slipped under her covers and snuggled into bed. He shifted her over – he was always taking the right side of the bed – and placed his glasses back on the table and turned out her bedside lamp before lying down beside her. It was strange how awkward it felt, since usually they wouldn't think twice about staying over.

Rose was about to say good night when he said, "Thank you, Rose."

"Anytime." She turned to see Scorpius staring at the ceiling. Before she could lose her nerve, Rose pushed up the small sleeve of his t-shirt, revealing the ' _Malfoy_ ' written into his skin. "Is that what this is about?"

Scorpius was determinedly not looking at her. "I can't change the fact that I'm a Malfoy."

"Right." She waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

Silence fell, and Rose lost track of how long it was. Even though she wasn't sure if he was asleep, she whispered, "Loneliness is a bitch, isn't it?"

Scorpius burst into surprised, hushed laughter.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It is."

* * *

A/N: Hi all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though I smut-blocked you a little bit. Promise there's some coming up ;)

Next: Rose might be going to the cottage a little earlier than she thought.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

Both Rose and Scorpius woke in the dark the next morning. The neighbour's booming music trembled the walls, and Rose found herself groaning out of sleep.

Even in her own bed, Scorpius had taken the right side, and she had to practically climb over him to grab her wand from the bedside table. With a flick, the room fell mostly silent — the bed was still rumbling with vibrations — and she dropped her wand back on the table with a clatter.

"I hate our neighbour," Scorpius mumbled as she clambered back under the covers. "I used to put in complaints before I realized the landlord doesn't give two shits."

"Ugh." Rose shifted and faced the opposite way, snuggling into her pillow. "Thank goodness for magic."

"Mhmm," he agreed.

Rose was nearly asleep again when she felt the bed dipping. Scorpius elbowed his way onto her side and snuck his arms around her waist, pulling her into him and his very obvious erection. He was still so warm from sleep, and she welcomed it against the chilly air from the building's cooling system.

He began innocently enough, peppering kisses into her hair, her neck, her shoulders; her tank top made for easy access. Then his mouth closed around the tip of her earlobe, and the slight scrape of his teeth made her gasp.

He chuckled, dropping slightly to press a kiss under her ear. She was sure he heard her shudder. "Good morning."

"Morning," she mumbled, eyes still feeling too heavy to open.

"Too tired? Do you want me to stop?"

"No," she whispered, pushing backwards to grind her arse against him. He groaned quietly and his hands worked underneath her top, quickly finding her breasts and squeezing.

Scorpius moved his mouth to her neck again, kissing and sucking as they moved against each other. His lips were taking their time, fingers playing with her nipples in a way that made her brain a little hazy. It was all so lazy and warm and gentle that Rose could have fallen asleep again if she hadn't been unbelievably turned on.

He moved his nose into her mess of red curls as he moved one hand down, tracing her hipbones at her shorts. "I'm taking these off."

"I'm not stopping you."

But instead, he slipped his hand underneath the waistband, teasing with his fingertips. Rose tried to suppress the urge to squeeze her thighs closed, trying to find relief. To her dismay, he turned his attention back to her neck, keeping his hand resting between her legs.

"Scorpius," she protested, trying to pretend she wasn't grinding against his hand, but she definitely was. His lips and teeth were delightful against her skin, working his way across the back of her neck, her shoulders, the top of her back. " _Scorpius_."

He was grinning. She could feel it.

Without warning, he began touching her clit again, making her moan. His lips latched onto that sensitive area behind her ear and the other hand slid away from her breast and around her waist, pulling her closer with a surprising amount of strength.

Rose lost her breath as he pushed a finger into her, making her arch her back against his chest. He must have seen that coming because his arm around her waist tightened and barely allowed her to move, like some kind of sweet torture. She was embarrassingly wet, and she could sense his smugness as he stilled, _again_.

"Please," she said breathlessly. He was enjoying how much he was teasing her a little too much. " _Scorpius_ —"

"Tell me." She could hear the smirk in the gravel of his voice. "Tell me what you want."

"Fuck," she moaned, her head falling back on his shoulder as he touched her clit again. "I want… _fuck_ …"

"Tell me," he urged.

She hated how her voice was trembling. "I want you. Inside. Please."

A kiss pressed onto her shoulder as he pushed her shorts and underwear down her legs, and then his own. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled his chest closer to her back, tangled his legs with hers and eased himself inside.

"Rose." She felt his moan at the side of her neck as he kissed her there. "You feel so good."

She buried her face in her pillow as he pushed his hips against her, forced to be slower in this position, but the fullness was incredible. Scorpius sucked a spot on her neck that made everything tingle deliciously, somehow pulling her closer with every thrust.

It was almost as though they were still half-asleep, breaths soft, movements languid and dragging. It was both tantalizing and tormenting, but Rose's mind was blissfully blank, just wanting more; she'd never experienced that.

"Hold still," Scorpius grunted, lips leaving her neck.

She complied as he shifted them over, pressing her front into the mattress. She felt him lean over her, forehead against her shoulder blades. Then his hands on her hips were lifting her and he was picking up the pace, making her cry out into her pillow.

He reached around to press circles into her clit, panting in her ear. "Are you close?"

"Yes," she breathed. Her eyes were screwed shut as she came, muffled by her pillow. His grip on her hips was almost unbearably tight as he moved inside her. He groaned loudly, voice rough and strangled as he came.

When they stilled, catching their breath, they realized the bed was still shaking from the thumping music next door.

"Well," Rose said breathlessly, "at least the neighbour can't hear us."

Scorpius buried his laughter in her shoulder.

"Did you know you have a birthmark here?" he whispered, lips on her skin. The sun had begun to rise behind the curtains, casting a dim light around the room.

"Are you sure it's not a freckle?" she asked as they dressed and shifted back under the sheets. "I have a lot of those."

"I've noticed." He moved beside her, his chest against her back, tracing where the supposed birthmark was. "No, it's bigger. Around the size of my thumb."

"What does it look like?"

"Nothing in particular." His breath tickled her neck as he spoke. "Just kind of a misshapen circle."

"Oh." She smiled. "No, I had no idea." Her eyes felt so heavy that she barely registered his arms wrapping around her. Something inside that sounded like logic and reason was telling her to pull out of his hold, find her spot on the bed away from him, go to the bathroom — _something_.

But she couldn't bring herself to move.

* * *

An indeterminate time later, Scorpius' voice in her ear nudged Rose out of unconsciousness. Then, she heard the tapping against her window.

"Rose," he grumbled, "I think that owl is for you."

She was much too warm and comfortable, but she peeked an eye open. "Can you get it?"

"It's your owl."

"But you're a morning person."

"Not today, I'm not."

The owl tapped insistently and hooted at her window. Really, Rose knew she had to get it sooner rather than later – if Muggles happened to see this, it could look very suspicious – so she kicked off her covers and opened the window.

"I see what you mean about this sleeping in thing," Scorpius said sleepily, flipping onto his stomach and hugging a pillow closely. "I could get used to this."

"But you always open the shop," Rose said absently as she received the scroll. With a last annoyed hoot, the little owl took off through the open window. She unrolled it without bothering to close the window. "Besides, it's only half past eight."

"Merlin, I'm old," he muttered. "Apparently I consider this sleeping in."

Rose didn't answer, still scanning the letter.

_We thank you for your application for a position at our shop. We are looking for candidate that has a love of reading, a flexible schedule, comfortable with speaking to customers and isn't afraid to think outside of the box._

_At this time, we must decline to give you an interview._

_Sincerely,_

_Tomes and Scrolls_

Rose felt her eyes stinging and a lump forming as she read the words over and over. When the silence stretched on, Scorpius glanced up from his pillow, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "What's that?"

"Uh," she said, clearing her throat as she folded the parchment in half. "Nothing."

"Oh."

"It's nothing," she insisted.

"You don't have to tell me," he said, scooting over to the side of the bed, "but you're crying."

"I'm not," she said, hand flying to her cheek, but he was right. "I'm _not_."

"Okay, okay."

Rose turned away, wiping her eyes roughly; she absolutely hated crying, especially in front of other people. Her nose got stuffy, she usually got a headache, and once she got started, it was hard to stop.

"You can go if you want," she told him. "I'll be fine."

"I'm not leaving unless you want me to." He paused. "Do you want me to?"

She didn't answer. He reached a hand to hers, and eventually she let him pull her back to bed, sitting beside him at the edge of her mattress. Without looking at him, she placed the letter on his lap.

Scorpius read through it, immediately scoffing. "This is a joke."

"I know." She wiped her nose with the back of her hand; she _really_ hated crying.

"It's just some generic response," he said, sounding extremely irritated. "They didn't even write your name. You're basically their perfect candidate, if they bothered to meet you."

"I know," she repeated, shaking her head, "it's stupid. I'm being stupid."

"You're not." He tossed the letter to the floor. "I know what these people do. They put an ad in the paper, but then they end up just hiring their lazy nephew or something as a favour to their parents."

She chuckled through her tears. "Yeah. I guess I just got my hopes up."

"That's okay."

"Yeah." Rose sniffed before bursting into another round of tears. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I think all of these rejections are getting to me."

"They'd get to anyone," he said, turning to face her. "Don't apologize for crying."

"Sorry," she said again, unable to help it.

"You're very strong, Rose." Scorpius surprised her by leaning in and wiping under her eyes with the soft of his palms. "More than I ever could be. If I'd lost my job and my closest friend, I wouldn't be even half as strong as you are."

"I don't feel strong," she admitted, voice breaking.

"But you are." He didn't seem to be lying, or placating her; his voice was quiet but firm. "You always get up and keep going. You've learned how to cook. You even run every day, which I still don't understand."

"Every other day," she corrected softly.

"Right." He brushed her cheeks again. "I dunno what your definition of strength is, but I think you're strong, Rose."

"Thanks." She swallowed any remaining tears and took a decisive breath, unable to meet his gaze. "I think I might take a break from job hunting for a bit. Maybe I'll wait until after the wedding."

"That's a good idea." Scorpius cleared his throat and moved away. "You'll find something. What will you do today, then?"

"Keep studying, probably."

"You could come to the cottage today instead," he offered, shrugging. "It might cheer you up if you enjoy the outdoors."

Rose sniffed again, feeling considerably brighter at this. "I love the outdoors."

"Meet me at my place in a bit, then?" he suggested, standing up and reaching into his shorts pocket to jingle his keys. "Coffee is on you."

"Of course it is," she replied, shaking her head.

After a long shower and inhaling some homemade coffee, Rose and Scorpius Flooed to an address she'd never heard before. As she landed in the new fireplace, it took her a second to stop coughing, dust off the skirt of her dress and look around.

Rose knew that Scorpius' family owned a Manor that dated back centuries and contained some of the magical world's most rare treasures and art, but hadn't quite anticipated what their cottage would look like. It barely exuberated the homely feeling she always associated with her grandparents' home, The Burrow; rather, it was furnished with very heavy, expensive-looking furniture, deep walnut wood flooring, large beautiful windows and marble fixtures.

Scorpius, of course, did not seem fazed. The "cottage" was quite large and he led her outside immediately, winding around a dining room, another living room, a large kitchen and a patio.

"This is really beautiful," Rose commented in awe as he led her to his backyard, if he could call it that; beyond the lawn, she could see a stone path leading towards a sizeable lake. "Did you grow up here?"

"No," he answered, "but we visited here very often."

"That's incredible," she said as they crossed neatly trimmed grass, heading towards a fenced area. "I mean, my parents definitely have enough money, but nothing like this. You have a _lake._ "

He smiled shyly. "Next time we can go swimming. It's really nice."

 _Next time._ Something about those words made her both delighted and cautious.

"Why did your dad take over the Apothecary?" she asked instead. She'd only seen it briefly, but even she knew some of the pieces were goblin-made and the art on the walls were worth a pretty penny. "Did he really need the money?"

"Well, I suppose we could have been fine," he said as they approached an unlocked gate to the garden. "It's not as though we would have starved by any means."

"Obviously," she teased.

"But without Ministry connections and all that…" Scorpius trailed off, looking uncomfortable. He unlocked the gate and gestured Rose forward before continuing. "Well, we didn't have any money coming in besides a few investments, and it did help things with the press."

Rose frowned. "I wish it wasn't like that for you. I don't think you deserve it."

"I don't think I deserve it," he said, looking at her sceptically, "but it isn't as though you can deny that what my family was wrong. We profited off a war."

"No, I can't," she admitted, "but that doesn't mean you did anything yourself, or deserve what _The Prophet_ says about you." Her eyes flitted to the tattoo on his arm. He clearly noticed since he touched it self-consciously, despite it being covered by the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"I can't change what happened," he said firmly. "I'm not trying to forget it, either, like _The Prophet_ always claims. But I'm better than what they expect of me."

He then purposefully diverted his attention and he made his way down the sandy path, leading her towards some very dry-looking plants. Rose decisively shut her mouth.

The sun certainly was hot, beating down an intense heat that had overwhelmed most of that month. Rose followed Scorpius towards the back, where some Fluxweed plants were withering and burnt at the tips of its leaves.

"Usually I ask our House Elf to help out during the week," he explained. "I thought the England summer wouldn't be so hot, but clearly I predicted wrong…"

Despite being dressed in quite nice khaki shorts, he didn't hesitate to kneel down and check the soil. Rose looked around, seeing a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, magical plants she remembered from Herbology class and a few she couldn't recognize. Thankfully, the Venemous Tentacula were near the edge, sleeping peacefully in a shadier part of the garden.

"Fluxweed has some healing properties," Rose recalled as Scorpius stood up again.

"We use it a lot at the Apothecary," he said distractedly, reaching for his wand. "I tried some grafting with it a long time ago, but couldn't get a good result. _Auguamenti._ "

She watched as he watered the Fluxweed and neighbouring plants, holding his thumb to his wand so the pressure would ease. "How did you get into all of this?"

"I dunno." He thought for a moment. "I've always liked being outdoors. At Hogwarts, it was the only class that wasn't holed up in the castle."

"Besides Quidditch."

"Yeah."

"It's a quiet sort of magic," Rose remarked, inspecting a vine with small, green tomatoes growing along it. "Kind of like Potions, but less finicky."

"Plants can be finicky," Scorpius pointed out with a shake of his head. "I've been doing this for years but I still get things wrong."

"How long have you been gardening?"

"Outside of Hogwarts?" he asked, stopping the flow of water from his wand. "Since the summer after sixth year, I think. But I really ramped this up a few years ago."

"The summer after sixth year, I backpacked through Italy with Roxanne."

"How was that?" he asked as he led her around to another patch with root vegetables poking out of the ground. It was absolutely infested with weeds.

"It was probably the most amazing experience of my life," Rose said, grinning at the thought. "I think if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have survived Seventh Year."

He kneeled down and poked through the soil, carefully pulling out a weed by the root. "Surely academics came easily to you, though?"

Rose knelt beside him. "Not as easily as everyone thinks, actually. And you know how well I deal with pressure."

He laughed.

"So how do you do this?" she asked, toying with the stem of a leafy weed.

Rose had always enjoyed the Hogwarts greenhouses. There was something very calming about rooting through the patch, feeling the soil in between her fingers and hearing the birds chirping in the trees. She could understand why he made visits every weekend to his cottage; she loved the city, but there was a sense of peace that went through her from the quiet.

When she was starting to feel sweaty and her hands were in dire need of scrubbing, she stood up and tried not to wince at the dirt on her dress. Scorpius cleaned his hands off with his wand, but she needed a bit more than that. "Could I use your loo?"

"Sure," he said as he cast a shower of water around the patch they'd just dug through. "You go ahead, it's near the front entrance. I'll be there once I'm done."

Rose wandered back to the cottage, doing her best to be careful and not track dirt into the house. Although no one lived there regularly, the bathroom was clean and there were fresh towels folded on the counter; she supposed their House Elf was very diligent. Her family – well, her mum – was quite opposed to House Elves and extravagance in general.

Their families were very different, weren't they?

Not that it mattered. They were just friends.

 _We're just two lonely people,_ Rose thought to herself as she wiped her now-clean hands on the towel. _That's all we are._

That was at least one thing in her life that she was quite sure of.

* * *

As Rose came out of the bathroom, a display of picture frames hung near the entrance caught her eye. She saw a large picture of Scorpius as a baby, sitting in between his mother and father posing formally. Another more recent picture of his mother and father hung beside that one, also quite formal, but still romantic. Her stomach flipped when she realized the last picture was of Scorpius and Annika at their wedding.

She had no idea why it was still up, but she found herself staring at it anyway. They were staring at each other – gazing, really – and she'd never seen Scorpius look so happy. He looked so much younger in it, like how she remembered him from Hogwarts. Annika was glowing. They were holding hands, fingers intertwined. It was honestly a beautiful picture.

But when Scorpius came in a moment later and realized what she was looking at, no one would've guessed it.

"Are you –" He cut off and shut his mouth, and she could see his jaw clenching.

"I'm sorry." She wasn't sure why she was apologizing, but he looked so distressed that it seemed like the only right thing to do. "I just kind of saw it."

He stared at her in realization. "You knew."

"I – yeah," she said, sighing. What was the point in lying? There was no sparing his feelings at this point. "I knew. I found out awhile ago."

"How?"

"Turns out it's kind of hard to hide something that's in _The Daily Prophet_ ," Rose said, trying to lighten the mood. "One of my friends mentioned it."

He looked pale. Conflicted.

"I swear," she said seriously.

"Well," he relented, "I guess it's not exactly a secret. We got married when we were twenty."

"That's really young," Rose couldn't help saying.

"Yeah," he said, giving a hollow laugh. "We got divorced in a year. We never should've gotten married."

"Why did you?"

"I dunno. It was stupid."

"Was it?"

"We were going to break up," Scorpius confessed. "I thought what she really wanted was a ring. Turns out, getting married doesn't really fix a relationship."

"Oh," she said, shaking her head. "Well, we're all kind of stupid at that age."

"We were together for so many years," he said, letting the words spill out like he couldn't help it anymore. "We worked well on paper, you know? So I proposed. And then she got caught up in all the wedding stuff, but as soon as it calmed down, we were fighting again."

"About what?" she asked curiously. Scorpius and Annika seemed to get along fine. Sort of.

"I dunno," he said, "everything. I was working too much and didn't spend enough time with her. I'm too quiet. I like being at home. I like Muggle things too much. I wanted to live somewhere like this," he said, gesturing around to the cottage, "and she wanted to live in the city. And I was selfish and didn't give into anything she wanted."

"Ah," she replied; she had her share of selfish partners, and actually sympathized with Nott. Then she frowned. "But you don't really seem selfish."

"I was," he assured dejectedly, "in literally every aspect of our relationship. Maybe I've learned from it, but she made that pretty clear."

There was a pause.

"I was going to tell you."

Rose's eyes snapped to his. "You were?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "I knew that you'd want to know. I dunno why, exactly, but I figured."

 _Trust_. The word hung unspoken in the air between them.

"Why didn't you just tell me, then?" she asked quietly. "You know I wouldn't have cared."

"I thought you might misunderstand," he said, raking a hand through his hair. "I didn't want you to think that I was using you because of her."

"I thought that at first, but… it didn't seem likely." She paused with a bite to her lip. "You should've told me. We're friends."

Scorpius exhaled loudly, not looking at her. "I'm not good at this, Rose. You've met my friends. We're not into this whole talking thing."

She couldn't help but laugh. "I guess, yeah."

"I told you that my parents spent a lot of time in my childhood telling me that I had to keep to myself because of who my family was." He focused his gaze on the ceiling determinedly. "Sometimes it seems easier not to talk about it."

"Right." She looked back to the picture on the wall. "Did your parents approve of your marriage?"

"Yeah." He snorted. "But they definitely didn't approve of the divorce part."

"Is that why the picture's still up?" she asked.

"Yeah, but also…" He trailed off and took the frame carefully off the wall. "We kind of forgot about it, I think."

Rose chuckled as he set the frame down to take the picture out. He headed towards the kitchen, crumpling it on the way. She followed and saw him chuck the photo in the bin under the sink.

"It's okay, you know," she told him as he stared at the balled-up photo. "It's okay you went your separate ways. Or that you made a mistake."

"I know." But for once, his voice was small, unsure.

"It's okay to move on," she added gently.

"I have moved on," he said, sounding very tired. "It's just…"

"You haven't figured things out yet?"

He swallowed before continuing. "We planned so much together. And now it's just gone."

And then it made sense to Rose. That Scorpius wasn't still in love with Annika, or hung up on her at all. Rather, he was hung up on a version of his life that never happened, and had been for years. Three years.

There was a long moment of silence as he looked at anything but Rose. Then Scorpius closed the cabinet under the sink, hiding the balled-up photo among the rubbish before exhaling a very long sigh. Rose touched his fingertips with hers until her fingers threaded between his.

"I don't know where to go from here," he admitted quietly.

She pulled him into a long hug, resting her chin on his shoulder. And he let her.

* * *

A/N: Hey there! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there was a lot in there. Let me know what you think, now knowing Scorpius a little better, and also any other thoughts you have :)

Next: the bridal shower.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

Rose was not avoiding Scorpius.

No, she wasn't exactly seeking him out. That was okay, since friends didn't see each other every single day unless they were in school or coworkers or something. Rose and Scorpius didn't see each other every single day, anyway. It wasn't like it was strange to not see him.

And what he told her about Annika Nott hadn't changed anything, really. She was pretty sure he was moving on with his life, even if he didn't know it; he enjoyed cooking, he liked gardening and he clearly thought about Herbology quite a lot, if the books around his flat were any indication. She also understood Scorpius a lot better, which made her happy for her friend.

Besides, it hadn't been as if he'd sought after her, either.

* * *

"I am actually excited for the bridal shower."

Rose glanced at Roxanne in scepticism. "Really?"

"Really."

Roxanne had come over before the party and was currently situated on Rose's couch, compact mirror in one hand, eyeshadow brush in the other. The neighbour's cat was slinking around in a corner, eyeing Roxanne with suspicion. On the other side of the couch, Rose was flipping through _Everyday Recipes Every Witch Should Know_ (she appreciated the direct title).

"I mean, I'm always up for the food," Rose relented with a shrug.

Roxy laughed. "Look, I'm not saying these things aren't a bit stifling, but it _is_ the first time that everyone won't be badgering me about getting engaged."

"That's a good point, actually." Rose sighed dramatically. "Meanwhile, I'm still very single, and it is going to be so _dreadfully_ painful to everyone."

It was an unfortunate part of attending family functions. Without fail, various family members – some she wasn't even sure she was related to – would question Roxanne about how long she and Noah would wait to get engaged. When Rose was with Travis, they would wink and nudge him to propose. Admittedly, it wasn't Travis who had been opposed to the idea, though at the time, Rose wasn't sure why she had hesitated.

Now that she was single, she was gently ostracized or an automatic participant in the "my-friend's-got-a-friend-who's-single" world. Perhaps there _was_ a plus side in having a pity-date to these things; hardly anyone seemed to understand that Rose wanted to stay single by choice.

"They do make a big deal out of it," Roxy said, rolling her eyes. "We're only twenty-four. It's not as though we're sprouting grey hairs anytime soon."

"The way they see it, our eggs are just being wasted away, year after year."

The little cat meowed loudly at their laughter.

"I didn't know you got a cat," Roxy said, her head following the cat as it darted into Rose's bedroom. "What's its name?"

"I dunno," Rose said, pausing her page flipping at an appealing picture of minestrone soup. "He's the neighbour's cat, I just feed him. Roxy, have you ever made soup?"

"Er, no. Have you forgotten I'm completely hopeless in the kitchen?" Roxy finished up her eye shadow and scooted over, looking at the page Rose was poring over. "You never have soup."

"I don't," she admitted, "but here's the thing: I like cooking, I like that I feel more energetic when I eat healthy food, but I'm way too lazy to do it all the time. Even with cooking spells."

"What about leftovers?"

Rose made a face. "Hard pass."

"So what's your plan, then?"

"Some people do this meal-prepping thing," Rose explained, setting the cookbook down on her coffee table and sticking a bookmark in it. "I recently read in _Spellbound_ that it's a popular alternative to takeaway. Just cook a load at once and freeze your meals for the week."

"Isn't meal-prepping just an elaborate form of leftovers?" Roxanne pointed out.

Rose stuck out her tongue in reply.

When Roxanne finishing laughing at her, she sat back on the cushions and sighed. "I hope that meal prepping isn't part of your whole reinventing yourself thing."

"Why not?"

"Because it's bullshit," she said bluntly, causing Rose to frown. "Your goals are great, and I'm glad you're doing them because you seem a lot happier lately, but you don't have to change who you are. You're a great person, reinventing not included."

"What do you mean, I'm happier lately?" Rose felt flattered, and the emerging confidence in her was starting to realize Roxanne might be right: Rose might not need an _entire_ personality transplant. But she hadn't exactly been unhappy before, had she?

"I dunno," Roxanne said thoughtfully, as she hadn't realized she'd said it. "I mean, I suppose you weren't crying every single day –"

"Oi, I never cry."

"– but there was something off, you know?" she continued. "You just seem more like yourself these days."

Rose went quiet, looking down at her fidgeting fingers. "I suppose having goals helps. Having a purpose."

"I suppose, yeah."

"I don't think I could tell Al, but he was probably right to kick me out," Rose admitted. "It kicked me in the arse, but it got me thinking about all the ways I could improve."

"We all have ways we can improve in our lives," Roxy added.

"And I'm not happy about losing my job," Rose clarified, "but it's not the only thing I do anymore. I actually kind of like that my life doesn't revolve around work. I like that I think about things that have nothing to do with what I do for a living."

"Like I've been saying, you don't have to do a job you _love_. Maybe you can come teach in Hogwarts with me."

Rose snorted. "I'd be such a shit professor, Roxy."

"Excuses, excuses," she countered, holding up the palette in her hands. "Anyway, we should probably hurry up. Do you want me to do your eyeshadow?"

"Absolutely not, it just ends up disappearing on half my eyelid," Rose said, glancing at the clock before hurrying to grab her makeup from her bathroom. "Shit, I can't do my eyeliner that quickly. How are we always late for everything?"

"Correction, _you_ are always late to everything," Roxanne amended with a chuckle.

Despite Rose's efforts, it seemed some things were destined to not change.

* * *

Rose was not avoiding Nathan.

She could see him in a corner, talking to a man who she assumed was one of Charlotte's relatives since she didn't recognize him. Nathan was wearing a dark grey suit that somehow made him look taller than usual. Not that this intimidated Rose at all; she was simply heading towards the opposite way for different reasons, of course. Besides, he was more of a wedding date, not the bridal shower date.

Right? Right.

Charlotte chose to have the bridal shower in a garden not far from London. It was not the first event in which the two sides of the families met, but Rose could still see some of her relatives struggling to look Muggle enough, and she caught her mum plucking off wizard's hats from heads and hiding them underneath a table. Luckily, most of the crowd was on the younger side, barring a few parents.

Rose and Roxanne quickly located Skye, who was surveying her choices at the drinks table. Upon hearing the situation with Albus, Skye had offered to take over for Rose that day and helped Ella and Charlotte with the bridal shower.

"You owe me one," Skye said to Rose as they approached her.

"How bad was it?" Roxanne asked, picking up a champagne flute.

Skye lowered her voice considerably. "I wouldn't hire this catering company for your wedding parties, Roxy, let's just say that. They were so late I wasn't sure they were going to show up at all. I nearly had to cut a bitch."

Rose barely managed to hold back a snort. "Thanks for covering for me."

"Again, you owe me," Skye said stonily.

They heard Ella's squeal before they saw her. Drinks in hand, they turned around to see the party host practically skipping towards them, smile just a _little_ too wide, blonde hair flying everywhere. It seemed the wedding stress might have gotten to the maid of honour.

"I'm so glad to see you all," Ella exclaimed, throwing her arms around Rose, then Roxanne. "I was so afraid I'd have to do the games without you."

"Games?"

"They're tame," Ella assured Skye's apprehensive expression. "I saved all the dirty ones for the bachelorette party."

Roxanne nearly spit out her drink, giggling.

"What's the plan for the hen party?" Rose asked. "Charlotte has no idea, right?"

"Yep," Ella confirmed excitedly. "She's got a couple of appointments that day, but almost everything is ready. Albus is going to let us into their place while she's out and we're going to surprise her when she walks in."

"I like it," Roxy said, raising her glass. "I'm bringing the tequila."

Skye grinned. "Cheers to that."

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose could see her friends' boyfriends nearing them, Nathan following closely behind. As subtly as she could, she slipped away, mumbling an excuse of trying to find Charlotte and Albus as the boys provided a convenient distraction.

Rose felt immediately awkward as she wandered around the party; she liked to stick to her friends' sides for this reason. Spotting her father and her Uncle Harry – Albus' father – chatting at a table, she sat beside them, trying not to make it obvious she was hiding.

"Hi Rosie," her dad greeted, pushing a chocolate cupcake towards her. This was why she loved him. "We were just talking about you."

Rose winced as she grabbed a clean fork from the table. "Lovely."

"He's just pulling your leg," Uncle Harry told her. "How've you been?"

"I'm doing all right," she replied with a polite smile, digging her fork into the cupcake. "How're you, Uncle Harry? Ready for the wedding?"

"Yep." He glanced at Albus, who was nearby and had his arm on Charlotte's waist as they greeted Roxanne's brother and his wife. "He's been stressed, I know, but overall he's gotten things together."

"Well, Charlotte has," Rose pointed out absently, frowning. Even if they weren't speaking, she could still tell Albus' smile was strained and there were faint dark circles wedged under his eyes.

Her dad nudged her arm. "Have you spoken to your mum yet?"

"Umm…" She took a long sip of champagne in response.

"Rose," her dad said sternly.

"Why're you avoiding her?" Uncle Harry asked, looking amused.

She put her glass down and carved out a large bite of her cupcake. "It's not that I'm avoiding her, I'm just… taking my time to reply to her owls."

Her dad and Uncle Harry laughed.

"Hermione can be a bit intense about the job search," her dad explained to her uncle. "Meanwhile, I think Rose is a bit confused after getting laid off from her job."

Rose hated when adults – well, older adults – spoke about her as if she weren't sitting right in front of them. "I'm just figuring things out on my own. She doesn't get it."

"Sounds about right," Uncle Harry said, scratching his chin. "That actually reminds me of when your mum tried to figure things out after the war. She couldn't pinpoint what she wanted to do."

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yep. You know what her solution was, of course," Uncle Harry said, rolling his eyes at her dad.

"Going to the library," they said in unison.

Rose felt her cheeks burn; her solution hadn't been much different, had it? The bookstore just happened to be a little closer to her home. "I guess it was."

"'Course, she had to go back to school to do it," her dad said with a shrug. "She said it helped her explore her options."

Rose busied herself with her cupcake. It was a very good distraction, okay?

Uncle Harry and her dad became engrossed in a conversation about politics when her cousin James came sauntering over, plopping down in the chair beside her and flashing her a wide, suspicious grin. Rose half-hoped that if she just ate her cupcake and didn't acknowledge him, he wouldn't bother her. As it was, she didn't have that kind of luck.

"Hey, Rose," he said, slinging an arm over her shoulder, "still single, I hear."

She groaned. "James, I swear to Merlin, I will hex your arm off of me."

James – Albus' older brother – had always been a bit of nuisance. He and Roxanne's brother Fred were attached at the hip, always teasing and annoying Rose, Albus and Roxanne throughout their childhood. Albus always strived to be different than James.

Not much had changed when they'd gotten older; if possible, James had become more obnoxious, loving the media attention from being Harry Potter's eldest son. To make matters worse, he was one of the top Aurors in the Ministry, despite not having worked even a fraction of what Albus had done. Unfortunately, Albus' humility didn't always work in his favour in his career.

"I'm just saying," James said, not moving an inch. "Everyone in the family says you'll be next to be engaged. Not sure what they're on about, considering the whole single thing, but they keep saying something about you being the next _sane_ one –"

"' _Everyone_ ' can mind their own damn business," she grumbled, taking a sip of champagne. She glanced at Albus, who had somehow been cornered by James' girlfriend.

"This is what I keep telling Al! He's always worried about what everyone thinks." He grinned at her. "Anyway, you're not getting engaged next, I am."

Rose nearly choked. "What?"

"If she says yes, of course."

"You're proposing?" She tried to imagine it, but all she could see was sixteen-year-old James, bragging loudly in the Gryffindor common room of how many girls he'd snogged and subsequently pissing off every female in the room.

"Yep, I've got it all planned out," he said proudly, pretending to buff his nails on his shirt. "I'm going to take her to one of those odd museums she loves, and then I'll just wing it."

Fuck, even _James_ was moving forward with his life.

The only hiccup was that James' girlfriend was extremely strange. Even now, Rose could see her prattling on to Albus about something, and because she knew him too well, she knew that his smile was extremely forced and she was being weird. Probably talking about Crup migration patterns – and they were _domestic_ creatures.

Rose chose to keep her opinion – well, facts – to herself. "I wish you luck, James."

"Don't need it. So, are you one of those single people who need to find themselves," James asked, "or the ones who never get married?"

Rose raised an eyebrow at her cousin. "Excuse you, those are only the two choices?"

"Yes."

"The former, then," she answered with a sigh. James could be just as judgemental as Al. "I'm taking a break from dating so I can deal with all the bullshit in my life. But I do want to get married one day, I think it'd be nice."

James nodded in approval. "Have you talked to Lily lately? She's been saying she might get married but she never wants kids. What's up with that?"

"What's wrong with that?" Rose asked, wrinkling her eyebrows. Her cousin Lily was a tough nut, but she was a very caring person, always looking out for everyone else. "If she doesn't want kids, that's her choice."

"Yeah, but that's _weird_ ," he emphasized. "Who doesn't want kids?"

Rose barely refrained from telling him not to reproduce.

"Butt out, James," she said bluntly, pushing away her plate of chocolate crumbs. "She's your little sister, for Merlin's sake. Support her choices for once in your life."

He was quiet for a moment, actually seeming sympathetic and understanding. Rose almost didn't recognize him.

"Okay." James turned decisive all of sudden. "Anyway, I need you to do me a favour, Rosie. A _serious_ favour."

"What's that?"

"Can you convince Albus to let us hire him a stripper for his bachelor party?" he whined, and Rose rolled her eyes. There was the James she knew and sort of loved.

She glanced back at Al again, and to her surprise, he was looking at her, too. He almost seemed betrayed, probably because she was sitting with James. In a split second, she decided to go see him.

"I'm going to talk to him," Rose said, draining her champagne and standing.

"Wait, really?" James asked, astonished; he was still going on about the stripper.

She ignored him, making her way through the crowd to Albus. He was still talking to James' girlfriend, looking like he would really like someone to rescue him. Before Rose could think of a good excuse and approach him, Charlotte's curly brown hair swamped her vision and she was yanked away.

"Rose!" she said, throwing her arms around her. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Hey, Charlotte," Rose said, squeezing back. "Congratulations, everything looks beautiful."

"Thanks," she said, sounding relieved as she pulled away and looked around. Gardens were naturally beautiful, and the way they set up tables with floral centrepieces was very fitting. "We were about to start the games with us younger ones, you know?"

"Right, right, Ella's mentioned something."

"But before that…" Charlotte took a deep breath and looked at Rose straight in the eyes. "I heard about everything with Al, plus he mentioned something about Nathan. I'm not really sure if you're mad at both us, but I'm really sorry about being a complete bridezilla."

"Oh." Rose felt completely caught off guard. "I don't think – you're not –"

"No, I am," she insisted, waving off Rose's excuses. "I've been going mad, I know it. Rose, seriously, get a wedding planner."

"I'm not getting married anytime soon," she spluttered.

"Yeah, but you and Albus are arguing, and I know it's because of the wedding."

Rose felt a twinge of sympathy. "Charlotte, it's not because of you." _Directly._

"Whatever's triggered it, I'm really sorry," she said, and she really did sound sincere and forlorn. "Al's been really torn up about whatever you've been rowing about."

Rose paused. "He didn't tell you?"

"No," she said, looking at Rose curiously. "It's between you two. He didn't tell me, and I didn't ask."

Rose couldn't explain why, but that changed something.

"Anyway," she rushed on, reaching into her sparkly clutch, "I know this can't make it up to you, but I hope this means something."

Charlotte pulled out a small, folded piece of parchment and handed it to Rose. Charlotte had drawn a small, simple bird, outlined and filled entirely in black. It had thin, fiery wisps coming out of its outstretched wings.

A phoenix.

"I thought you might like it as a tattoo," she said. "I've been absent because of all this wedding madness, but I know you've got your own shit going on with all this reinventing yourself stuff."

"You remember that?" Rose asked, feeling more touched than she thought she would.

"Of course." Charlotte swallowed nervously. "A phoenix symbolizes rebirth, or a new beginning. And I knew you'd like something a little simpler. But you don't have to use this if you don't want to."

Rose let out a breath. She couldn't believe that Charlotte had remembered about her tattoo – she'd been a little caught up in Scorpius' to really think of her own – but it was perfect.

Even if Charlotte and Rose hadn't become proper friends until she'd entered Albus' life, they _had_ been friends for several years. Not as long as Roxanne or Skye, but they had become close. In a little over a week, she was going to be family.

And Rose was quite terrible at keeping grudges, if she was honest.

"I'm not angry with you," she said gently, folding the parchment back up and sticking it in her bag. "I guess it's just been an ill-timed existential crisis I've been going through. It doesn't pair well with a wedding."

Charlotte smiled, but her eyes were welling up. "I suppose not. I really am sorry."

"Thanks, Charlotte." And then they were hugging, and though Rose still wanted to speak to Albus – he was definitely _not_ off the hook – something softened in her chest.

"Come on!" Charlotte exclaimed suddenly, breaking away and grabbing her arm to drag her back into the garden. "We're about to start the games."

Most of the chairs were full, the couples congregating together, and she found herself sitting in beside Nathan, her date by technicality. He gave her a smile as she sat down.

Luckily, some of Nathan's attractive looks had worn off in novelty since they last met, and her belly wasn't doing as many nervous flip-flops and somersaults. Rose nearly breathed a sigh of relief, but stopped herself just in time. Somehow, men as attractive as Nathan weren't so comfortable to be around for her.

When Rose thought of Scorpius, it was different. He was attractive as well, but in a very different way that didn't scream 'I work out every single day.' He was tall and had sharp cheekbones and perfectly messy blond hair, but he didn't have defined muscles and could look a little soft after he'd eaten. He had glasses that were a little dorky.

Looks always wore off. Even feelings wore off, usually. She knew that.

Then she wondered why she even compared the two at all.

"There you are," Nathan said, sounding surprised. "I thought you didn't make it."

"Oh, no," Rose said quickly, pasting a grin on her face. "I'm here. Just been around."

"It's really nice, isn't it?" he asked, looking around. The younger crowd was still finding seats, taking their time before the games started. "I actually recommended this place to Ella. One of my friends had their baby shower here."

"Good choice, yes."

"So," he said, turning back to her, "the last time I saw you, I think you were running."

"I'm still doing that," Rose confirmed with a shrug. "My friend Skye – you met her that day – is going to help me do a five kilometre run sometime this week."

"Oh?"

"Well, I've finished a few now," she clarified with a blush, "but I'm determined to do this one in thirty minutes."

"Congratulations," he said, raising his glass of white wine in her direction. "I know how difficult it can be to reach a fitness goal. That's something to celebrate."

"Thanks."

"Okay, let's start!" Ella called loudly from a small stage up ahead, quieting the murmur of the crowd. "For this game, you're going to need to pair up with someone from the other side. So if you're from the bride's side, pair up with someone from the groom's side, and vice versa."

As people started to shift around, Nathan grinned at Rose, landing his hand on her knee. "Partner."

"You might all know this game," Ella said excitedly as they quietened down again. "Two truths and a lie. The other person has to guess what the lie is between three statements about yourself. Just a fun little ice breaker to get to know each other."

Rose could see Skye in the corner of her eye, paired up with one of Charlotte's Hufflepuff friends, visibly trying to muster up a passable smile.

"We already sort of know each other, don't we?" Nathan asked as they turned to each other.

"Sure," she replied. She tried not to show it on her face, but she didn't think he knew her very well at all. "Do you want to start?"

"Yes." He thought for a moment. "I'm really into horror movies, I sprained my elbow once and my favourite food is chicken curry."

Rose bit her lip to hide a smile. "Really? How do you sprain an elbow?"

"Okay, that was the lie," he admitted. "I made that too easy. Your turn."

"Right. Well, I sing really well, I hate Starbucks coffee and uh," she stumbled, "I got laid off a few weeks ago."

_Why did she say that?_

Nathan raised his eyebrows in alarm. "Er… it is the last one?"

"No," she confessed, "I actually sing really terribly."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," he said awkwardly. "It must have been difficult to lose your job."

"Well, you know how it is," she said, glad she'd kept her hair down that day. Rose knew her ears were absolutely burning from embarrassment. She definitely wasn't going to tell him that she'd taken a break from job applications. "I'm just keeping my chin up and keeping at it, you know? An opportunity is bound to present itself at some point."

"Oh, definitely," he said quickly. "You seem really bright and capable. Do you want some advice for the next position?"

 _No._ "Sure."

"Make yourself indispensible," he said wisely. "Whether it's who you are around the office or if you're great friends with your boss, you know? Make it so that they could never think about firing _you_ , just the next shmuck who sat in the corner and never really made a difference in the workplace."

Was he aware that he'd indirectly insulted her? Probably not; he seemed quite earnest.

"What about otherwise?" she asked, furrowing her brow. "You know, excellence in the quality of your work?"

"Yes, of course," he said with a wave of his hand. "That goes without saying."

Rose felt apprehensive about his advice, but she chose not to shrug it off. "Anyway, I think this whole thing was a blessing in disguise, really. It's been tough, but I've gotten a chance to explore my options, maybe even choose another career path."

"I wouldn't stray too far from what you were doing before," he advised.

"What do you mean?"

Nathan took a long sip of his wine before answering. "Well, it's quite simple. In most cases, the amount of time spent on one thing directly correlates to how successful you are. Most people succeed not because they are the most talented, but in how long they've stuck with it."

Rose didn't quite know how to respond to that one; she really wasn't sure she wanted to work up the ladder, or do a job with so much office politics. "I think it might be time for a change, though."

"I'm just offering the most logical answer."

"Sometimes the logical answer isn't the right one," Rose said defensively. "Besides, success is subjective."

"Not really," he said pleasantly, "not according to the economy and the markets. But maybe personal satisfaction has something to do with it."

"Maybe," she repeated, but she was quite sure it did – at least for her. She could tell this conversation was about to run in circles. "Anyway, I think it's your turn."

The rest of the games were pleasant, and after Nathan stopped running his mouth about job advice, Rose actually had a good time. She switched partners to Roxy for another game, and afterwards, Albus and Charlotte played games on the stage, testing their relationship knowledge. Albus turned beet red with nervous laughter when he got her favourite dream vacation wrong, and it was actually so adorable.

Rose missed him. She wanted to share this special moment with him; he was getting _married,_ and they weren't speaking. She really wanted to work everything out.

But he had said some very hurtful things, too.

After the games finished and they began serving lunch, Rose tugged him away from Charlotte and various relatives. As soon as he saw her, he surprised her by squeezing her in a tight hug. She hadn't known she needed that.

"Hey," she mumbled, squeezing back. "How are you doing?"

"I'm all right." He let her go. "I really want to talk, Rose."

"Me too."

"I just don't know when," he said, raking his fingers angrily through his hair. "The wedding is taking up literally all of my free time, but right when it's all over, we're leaving for the honeymoon."

"I know," she said quietly.

"And," he added determinedly, " _you're_ busy. I get that."

Rose nearly felt stunned. "You do?" She'd gotten a strong impression that he considered her unemployment as free time, when in reality, it was like a clock that was ticking a little too fast.

"Yeah." He glanced over her head as a relative called his name. "Can you owl me? Please?"

"I can do that." She looked at him, concerned again at the darkness under his eyes, the hunching in his shoulders. "Are _you_ okay, Al?"

"Yeah, yeah," he dismissed quickly, but she could tell he was lying. "Just haven't gotten much sleep. I've been talking to my boss about going back in the field, and Charlotte's an anxious mess about it."

"Charlotte seems to be anxious mess about everything right now," Rose observed. In her peripheral, she saw her mum nodding and laughing with her grandmother, and then setting her sights firmly on Rose.

"Shit," Rose whispered. She knew that look in her mum's eyes and the determined pace towards her; she was in trouble, and was about to get an earful. " _Shit_ , my mum's coming this way."

"So?" Al asked, confused.

"Long story short, I haven't answered her owls in a while," she said hurriedly, attempting to hide behind him, but it was way too late. "Shit, I'm in so much trouble."

"I'll distract her," he said immediately.

As her mum approached them, mouth open and ready to speak – yell, perhaps? – when Albus threw his arms around her. "Aunt Hermione! Thank you so much for coming."

"I – hello, Albus," she said warmly, clearly caught off guard. "How's the wedding planning going?"

He let go, but kept a hold of her arms. "It's going well. Actually, I wanted to ask you about something, there's a bit of an issue with the security of the wedding hall, perhaps we could…"

Her mum instantly was on alert, as the head of Magical Law Enforcement. "Of course, what do you need?"

Rose slipped away as quietly as she could, and Albus sent her a hopeful smile behind her mum's back. She gave him a thumbs up before heading towards the loo, where she could bide out a little more time.

She hadn't forgiven him, but maybe she didn't have to lose him altogether.

* * *

Rose's toes were sufficiently pinched by the time she Apparated to Diagon Alley and began the short trek back to her apartment building. The bridal shower had been overall quite pleasant, and she was starting to feel excited for the wedding again. Even though she hadn't really gotten a chance to speak to Albus, she felt like she might not lose him entirely. At least, it seemed Charlotte wouldn't let that happened.

As she entered her building, she noticed her mailbox for the first time in – Merlin, it must have been a while. She'd paid all her bills, so she hadn't checked it, but she noticed the edge of a brown envelope sticking out the bottom of the box.

Rose stuck the golden key into the slot and twisted it. Immediately, the box sprung open, several of the letters falling to the floor. Belatedly, Rose was remembering that there were wizards working in the post office, helping direct mail to magical people such as herself who chose to live among Muggles. It was a great effort to reduce the number of owls that Muggles could spot.

Feeling a swoop of anticipation, she gathered all the letters and shut the box, hurrying up the stairs despite her sore feet. Reading the return addresses, she realized many of the positions she'd applied to that never replied must have sent their responses through the post.

Once inside her apartment, she kicked off her heels and ripped open envelope after envelope, hurriedly scanning through her mail. She read the words, 'Happy to meet a member of the great Weasley family' more than a couple of times. Though there were a few more rejections, there were more positive responses, mostly from the various Ministry positions she'd applied to… through the post. That was the application procedure if you didn't have a direct referral.

She had completely and utterly forgotten that they might also respond through the _post_.

After opening all her mail, Rose took a deep breath, overwhelmed with the fact that she'd gotten several interview invites, and even a couple of job offers. All those weeks of uncertainty and confusion, and she'd had options.

She just hadn't known.

* * *

A/N: Hi there! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. There was a lot of family development and I know some of you were wondering about Charlotte. Thank you to the one(s) who suggested a phoenix might be Rose's tattoo, I really liked that idea and wanted to include it. Hope you liked that as well, and let me know what you think!

Also, HUGE thank you to everyone who reviews and comments, but especially last week; I had some issues and long story short, I was in so much pain that I couldn't even sit up long enough to use my laptop. Reading your thoughts on chapter eighteen (especially because I think that was a special chapter for me) while confined to my bed made my hellish week go by a little easier. Thank you thank you thank you. :)

Next: Rose works at the bookstore (and Scorpius comes back).


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Chapter Twenty**

Flourish and Blotts was more than a bit chaotic that Sunday morning. Rose had never seen the bookshop more full, not even the week before Hogwarts students headed back to school. Wizards and witches of all ages and sizes clambered around the shelves to get a good look at the featured author.

Rose had heard of her — Florence Jinglewatt — but hadn't realized how popular she was. She seemed to be in her mid-40s, round cheeks glowing red and she signed books with turquoise ink. As she read the first chapter of her book, Rose snagged a copy and brought it back to the till she was managing.

It seemed the author was a recent sensation, having released three romantic fiction novels within the last two years, all of them a great success. Rose wondered whether Jinglewatt had been working towards her success for her entire life, or if she'd stumbled upon it later.

With the crowd hanging onto the author's every word and Natalie manning the signing table, Rose was left flipping through Jinglewatt's novel, which was decent. No one else came into the store for the entirety of that morning and after the signing was over, only one person came up to the till to purchase a bookmark.

"Is it usually this busy for signings?" Rose asked when Natalie brought them turkey sandwiches for lunch. The bookshop felt very quiet after everyone had left.

"Oh, sometimes," she replied, munching thoughtfully. "We try to get bestsellers in for the book releases, but their publishers are much more interested in them going to America. Shame, really."

"Sure." Rose finished half her sandwich before asking another question. "So, the summer has been a bit quiet."

"Summers always are. Everyone's on holiday, see."

"What's it like running the place in autumn?"

"There's plenty to do," she said after swallowing. "More titles are released, Christmas is coming. It's a lovely time of year."

Rose looked down at the crumbs on her plate. She couldn't shake the feeling that running the shop was a lot more waiting around than she thought. "Well, I'm glad today was a success."

"Well." Natalie's smile faltered. "The signings are usually to get people in the door, look at other books… seems like they aren't having as much of an effect as they used to."

"Really?"

"Witches and wizards are relying on more owl-order from wholesellers these days," she admitted with a wince. "We always have our loyal customers, but if wholesellers are getting and selling books at a lower price than we can afford, what can we do?"

Both of their gazes drifted towards the stacks of Florence Jinglewatt books, still piled on the signing desk. Very few had bought their copies from Flourish and Blotts, even though the shop had been overflowing with fans.

"Perhaps I will work on my owl-order service," Natalie said to herself, frowning at her half-eaten sandwich. "It _is_ rather out-dated, and it takes quite a long time for my old owls."

"You could probably have more owls if you dedicated more space for it," Rose suggested, tapping on the side of the till absent-mindedly. "Perhaps if you used more of the upstairs section and transfigured the roof for easy access?"

Natalie stared at Rose in confusion. "But the History of Magic section — we have the largest collection of rare History of Magic books in Britain."

Rose bit her lip; the last time anyone had ventured up those steps, let alone bought one of those extremely expensive rare books must have been ages ago. "Perhaps they can be sold to a museum. Or put in storage."

The older woman pursed her lips. "Perhaps."

"What else, then?" Rose asked defensively, putting up an admittedly forced smile. "I mean, I know I'll always shop here. I practically grew up here."

"That's why our customers are loyal," she said confidently, clearing their plates. "They know they can always find what they need and support their community."

But when no one else entered the store for the rest of her shift, Rose began to realize that perhaps the bookstore that she loved as a little girl needed change. She knew owl-order service was extremely popular with busy wizards and witches those days, especially with people her age.

If Rose worked in a bookshop, it was very likely going to be less spent with books and connecting with fellow readers and more spent trying to find better deals for books than the wholesellers. Not to mention working on organizing an entire mail service and avoiding owl droppings in the process.

Perhaps Rose had romanticized a position at a bookshop more than she'd realized. To say she was a little conflicted was an understatement.

* * *

Rose almost didn't hear the knock on her door that evening, kneeling on the floor of her living room and squinting at a set of instructions as she held two large planks of wood together. She'd managed to get a couple of nails in with a drill, but the noise made the neighbour's cat meow incessantly and the tapping on the door became nearly inaudible.

"Come in!" she called, sitting back on her heels and wiping her forehead. Scorpius entered a moment later, shutting the door behind him and turning the lock.

"Do you ever lock your door?" he asked, plopping down on her couch. Surprisingly, the cat remained curled up on the couch, but watched him carefully.

Rose didn't reply, watching as he shifted to get comfortable. She'd wanted to knock on his door several times over the past few days, but felt hesitant, wondering if things would have been awkward between them after the cottage. She was nervous he'd close up again, and she'd be left off-kilter.

Of course, he didn't seem that way whatsoever. She knew she had a tendency to build these things up in her head, and Scorpius was not an over-analyzer; that much was obvious. He seemed completely normal.

Maybe they hadn't been avoiding each other, after all. He just hadn't wanted to see her.

"How was your weekend?" she asked, trying to ignore her overactive brain.

"It was good. Visited my friends, slept a lot."

"You do look well-rested," she said, going back to attempting to dissect the bookshelf instructions. "Are you ready to head back to work?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he said, yawning and stretching his legs out. "My father won't be happy with my decision. I'll tell him tomorrow when I go back to work."

"Decision?"

"Yeah." He didn't continue right away, so she turned to face him properly. Uncertainty flashed across his face, but he visibly pushed it away. "I'm going to raise my Potions N.E.W.T. in night classes. I'll try to get it up to an 'O' so I can reapply for that medicinal research program next year."

"Really?" she asked, a grin unfolding across her lips.

He groaned. "Don't look so smug."

"I'm not smug!" she protested. "I'm happy for you. At least you're able to make a decision and stick to it."

"Sure," he said, sounding confused. "As opposed to…"

Her stomach twisted. "Me. Indecisive as ever."

"You're not indecisive," he stated kindly, "at least, not about the small things."

"Anyway, I'm happy you're doing this. Maybe you won't have a social life for a little while, but it'll be worth it." She paused. "Have you told your friends?"

"No," he snorted.

"Why not?"

"Let's not, and say we did," he said light-heartedly.

Rose poked his leg. "Isn't it weird to avoid talking about things? I tell my friends everything. It's actually quite cathartic."

"I don't talk about this kind of stuff with friends," he said firmly, wandering his eyes over to the cat, who was licking his paw. "I wouldn't usually talk about it, period."

"You talk about it with me."

"You're different."

"In what way?"

"You'd probably choke me in my sleep if I didn't."

"Only if you're into it," Rose replied with an innocent smile, making him actually choke.

"You know," he said, face red, "I reckon I should probably start venting my problems to this little guy." He gestured towards the cat, making him cower. "He's always here, anyway. What do you think?"

"So now it's okay to befriend cats?"

"It's always been okay to befriend cats. You just have issues."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Despite that lovely compliment, you have permission to grab him some treats from my kitchen."

"Thanks," he said, but seemed to decide against it; the cat had begun to hiss at him. "How was your weekend?"

Rose told him a little bit about the bridal shower, stopping short of telling him about Nathan. For some reason, she didn't want to talk about him with Scorpius. Even if she could fall hard and fast for someone like Nathan, she wasn't going to let herself anywhere near that. So why did Scorpius need to know about him, especially when they had a good thing going?

Avoiding that subject entirely, Rose instead mentioned, "The bookstore was a bit underwhelming this morning."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Never thought I'd ever hear you say that."

"I just thought it might be a bit more magical to work there, you know?" she said, feeling very silly as she said it. "I thought it would be meeting like-minded people, talking about books all day… instead, I realized the business is dying, and I was basically just waiting for my shift to be over."

"That _is_ the reality of running a shop," he said, chuckling quietly.

"I'm not sure if it's something I want anymore." And then there was the pile of mail – hidden in her dresser drawer, in case Scorpius came over – that she still had to go through. It sent a guilty pang through Rose; she knew her name would make things a little easier, but it wasn't something she wanted to flaunt in front of Scorpius.

"I think you're allowed to change your mind," he pointed out, "but I'm pretty sure most jobs aren't exciting most days. Sometimes they are, but not always."

"That's true." She sighed. "And after all that bullshit, I haven't even eaten since lunch."

"Why not?"

"Because of this," she said, frustrated as she gestured to the pile of wood and nails. "First, I went out to buy a hammer and screwdriver, right? But then I spent forever deciphering _this_ ," she held up the instruction booklet, "and it's just a bunch of crappy pictures."

Scorpius took the instructions from her. "Why aren't you using magic?"

"I don't want to. Anyway," she said, sending a dirty look to the shelves, "I finally figured out I'm supposed to be using some sort of drill. So I went and bought a drill, and I got in an argument with a guy at the hardware store, because he didn't want to sell me the proper-sized drill. He kept insisting I buy the tiniest fucking drill in the store."

"Oh, Merlin."

"Eventually, I told him I didn't need a drill the size of his dick, and he finally let me buy the other one."

Scorpius burst into laughter.

"And _then_ ," she continued, "I made it all the way home until I realized that not only do I need a drill, I need the drill bits. So I went back to the store again for that, right when they were closing."

Scorpius grinned and shook his head. "What a day you've had."

"I think he treated me like that because I'm wearing a dress," Rose confessed, spreading the skirt out, "but I don't see why that means I can't use a drill."

"That's true," he said, handing the instructions back to her. "You should instead tell him that you're a witch and barely understand what a drill is."

Rose stuck her tongue out at him.

"Should we make something, then?" he asked. "I could eat."

"No," she said, sighing. "I'm tired. I don't want to cook."

"I'll make us something," he offered, "Or we could order something."

"I'm trying to save money." She nudged his leg again. "You know what this means, right?"

"Uh, no."

"Ice cream for dinner."

Scorpius laughed, sounding incredulous. "You're not even drunk this time."

"I don't get drunk very often," she said, wrinkling her brow. For some reason, his comment stung. "I used to, but…"

"You used to get drunk a lot?" He sounded quite surprised at her admission. "It doesn't seem like that's your thing."

She looked down at her dress, picking at the hem. "It wasn't my thing, actually. My ex just liked to party a lot, and he was always egging me on. It all stopped once we broke up. I can't even do shots anymore, I'm practically a lightweight."

"Oh, _that's_ why you dropped your shot on the ground," he realized, and Rose looked at him questioningly. "At the bonfire, remember?"

"I'd forgotten about that," she said, chuckling.

He smiled. "So, why'd you do it, then?"

"It's just what you do, isn't it?" she asked with a shrug. "You party in your twenties and make some reckless decisions."

"I guess I can understand," he considered. "Mine have mostly been pretty boring because I'm not into parties. I much prefer just grabbing a pint with my mates."

Rose frowned. "You're not boring. You just decided not to be stupid in your early twenties."

"I suppose," he said, laughing, "but I enjoy being boring, if that's what I am."

"Sometimes I wish I were as confident as you," she confessed, burying her face in her hands. "I'm not into parties either, if I'm honest. I always get caught up in what I'm _supposed_ to do, don't I? I thought I was supposed to party a lot with him, make some memories. I thought it would make me a better girlfriend."

Scorpius slid down onto the floor beside her to put his arm over her shoulder. "You're such a Gryffindor. Sometimes that's how we learn."

"Do you think I'm ridiculous for all that?" Rose asked quietly, looking at him. He was closer than she realized, and she was suddenly struck by how much she wanted to run her fingers through his hair.

"No," he assured, "I don't. I think you're ridiculous for wanting ice cream for dinner."

"Hey!" she exclaimed as he laughed. "That's probably the most solid idea I've ever had when I was drunk, okay?"

"I don't doubt that, I promise."

Rose shoved him gently and leapt up, scurrying over to her kitchen as Scorpius chased after her. She'd just gotten a hold onto the handle to open the freezer when she saw his hands slam on the door, stopping the movement. She turned around to glare at him.

His arms settled on the fridge, on either side of her, keeping the freezer door shut as he moved closer. She supposed she could duck under his arms at any time, but still, she poked Scorpius in the chest. "Move."

"No."

"Why not?" she asked, crossing her arms defensively.

"I'm saving you from yourself," he claimed, attempting to control the corners of his mouth that were twitching into a smile. "You shouldn't eat ice cream for dinner."

"A bit late for that," she pointed out, "don't you think?"

"No."

"Who told you that you could tell me what to do?" she accused, poking him in the chest again. "It's a free world."

"I'm just being a good _friend_." He sounded a touch sarcastic.

"A _better_ friend would join me."

"But that's not as fun," he said, dipping his head to press his lips against her neck, exactly where he knew it would make her shiver. He met her eyes again, and she found the words melt on her tongue.

"Not as fun as eating ice cream," she managed weakly.

He cocked his head. "Are you sure?"

Rose was only half-aware of how her heart was racing in her chest when he leaned down to kiss her. He'd obviously been teasing her, but his lips were gentle and unhurried. His moan escaped between their kiss as she hooked her arms around the back of his neck, pressing closer.

His hands wrapped around her waist so tightly that she lost her breath, gasping against his mouth. Scorpius took the opportunity to deepen their kiss and ground himself against her. She knew what he was doing, and he was winning; she could feel herself struggling to keep her thoughts even somewhat coherent.

Rose tightened her grip on his shoulders and hitched her legs onto his hips, taking him by surprise. He staggered back into the counter behind him and she met his mouth again feverishly. His hands haphazardly squeezed her arse, making her grin.

"What?" he mumbled, feeling the movement on his mouth.

"Nothing!" And before he could open his eyes, she untangled herself from him, easily able to slip out of his grip as she pushed her weight backwards. Quickly, she dashed back to the freezer and grabbed the carton chocolate ice cream.

"Ah- _ha_!" Rose cried triumphantly, brandishing it in front of him.

Scorpius laughed, his cheeks still flushed from their snogging. She couldn't help noticing how cute he looked when he was flustered. "Okay, okay, you win."

"You're having some, too," she said cheerily as she fetched some bowls and spoons for them. "I don't let my guests stay hungry."

"That's definitely not true," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. She caught him looking at her arse again, and she pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh as she scooped ice cream into the bowls.

"Later."

"Later," he repeated with a sigh, accepting the bowl she handed him.

Scorpius went back to her living room couch, leaning back on the cushions as Rose found her spot on the floor. The cat seemed very comfortable on the couch, and she didn't want to disturb him, but she was wrong; it sneaked under her arm and into her lap as she ate her ice cream, closed his eyes and purred. Rose barely refrained from squealing in delight.

"This is my happy place," she said, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction as she licked the ice cream from her spoon. "I have ice cream and this cat loves me. This is amazing."

Scorpius shook his head. "You are so…"

"Smart? Wonderful? Yes," she joked.

"Endearing," he corrected, amused. "Just sitting there in your dress, that little cat in your lap and eating ice cream. And trying to figure out how to use a drill."

Rose felt inclined to feel awkward, but he somehow didn't make her feel that way at all. She couldn't help the smile that invaded her lips, and looked away so he couldn't see.

"Are you saying I can't learn how to use a drill?" she asked, "or build this shelf?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what?"

He smiled and shook his head. "Nothing."

"Okay, I'll admit it," she said, confused, "I don't really know how to use a drill."

"Shocker."

"But I'm _learning._ " She leaned back and rested her spine against his legs. "Do you know how to use one?"

"No," he said in between bites, "but I'm not going to try."

"What do you mean?"

"I know better than to get in between you and your furniture," he explained, and she laughed.

They finished their ice cream in comfortable silence. Rose savoured every spoonful; it was silly, but it had been a long day, and sometimes she just needed that little bit of comfort. She still had the pile of mail to go through once Scorpius left – _if_ he left, that is – and it was something she was happy to procrastinate with junk food.

Rose leaned her head back on his knees to look at him. "Okay, are you ready to admit that ice cream for dinner is amazing?"

"I was just teasing you, Rose. I don't really care what you have for dinner."

"You're just in denial," she decided, "but if you're still hungry, I have frozen pizza."

"I am drawing the line at frozen pizza," he said, looking scandalized.

"It's not that bad, okay? Stop being so snobby."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and placed his now-empty bowl beside him. He began to play with a curl of her hair that was sprawled over his lap. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Tell you something, actually," he said, clearing his throat. "Or talk to you. I dunno."

"Spit it out," she encouraged, amused.

Scorpius took a breath, but before he could speak, there were three loud knocks on the front door. Startled, Rose sat up, but the cat meowed angrily at the sudden movement and dug his claws into her dress.

"Are you expecting someone?" Scorpius asked in a hushed voice.

"No," she said, but she wondered if it was Albus. He had wanted to reconcile things with her; perhaps he'd found a moment to talk, and not barge through her Floo this time? "I think it might be my cousin."

"Oh." The knocks came again, louder. "Aren't you going to get that?"

"Having some difficulty, here," she said, frowning at the cat in her lap, but he wasn't backing down. She knew just how untrusting the cat was, and looked at Scorpius helplessly. "Can you get him off of me?"

"I think he might attack me if I try," he said, looking unsure. "I'll get your door."

"Okay," Rose said, trying to pet the cat and soothe him, but he only stubbornly burrowed into her lap. She gingerly twisted around to see Scorpius swinging the door open to reveal not Albus, but her mother.

Oh, _fuck._

"Rose Weasley, you –" Then her mum was blinking in surprise at Scorpius, who looked stunned. There was a long moment of silence as they all looked from one another, and Rose – for once – had no words.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley," Scorpius said politely, holding out his hand.

Her mum stepped inside her flat and shook it, looking at him warily. "Hello."

"Should I leave?" Scorpius asked, looking at Rose. She knew him well enough to read the careful indifference in his expression, hiding how nervous he felt.

She tried to shoot him a look in response that said something along the lines of, _Please please please do not leave me alone and let her eat me_ (Rose was still a little hungry).

"That would be a good idea, if that's all right," her mum answered when Rose didn't. "We just have an important, overdue conversation."

Yup, she was in such deep shit.

Scorpius obviously didn't get the message. After he quickly put his bowl in her kitchen sink, he silently slipped around her mother and out the entryway, sending an apologetic smile to Rose and closing the door behind him. Her mother turned to Rose with a deadly expression.

The cat darted behind the couch immediately.

" _Now_ you move, huh?" Rose muttered, sending daggers towards him.

"Rose, what is going on?" her mum demanded, surveying the pile of wood, nails, equipment and the cardboard boxes they'd come in, all in a mess strewn across her living room floor. "What is all this?"

She gestured to the disaster. "I'm just building a bookshelf."

"Without magic? _Why_?"

"Because I have a lot of books and nowhere to put them."

Her mum crossed her arms impatiently. "I've been so worried about you. You've been _completely_ ignoring my letters and I nearly sent a Howler."

Rose would have preferred that, if she was being honest.

"I've just been really busy," she said, standing and straightening out the wrinkles of her dress. "I've been applying for jobs nearly every day, and no one was answering for a really long time."

"Looks more like you've been wasting your time with other things," she said, giving a sharp nod towards the bookshelf. "You don't have a job yet, do you?"

"Not yet," she admitted, "but –"

"It's been weeks, Rose!" her mum exclaimed, voice rising considerably. "Why won't you let me help you? This doesn't have to be so dramatic –"

"I'm not being dramatic," she protested, "I'm just trying to figure this out my own way, since I couldn't do that the first time around. Remember who forced me to take a job at the Ministry?"

"It was just a starting point! You were supposed to transfer or get promoted, that's how these things go."

Rose let out a breath. "Maybe I just need to take a step back," she attempted to reason. "I'm just so lost, Mum. I don't even know what I'd be interested in because all I like to do is read and watch Quidditch games."

"That's besides the point," her mum dismissed. "You need to go by your strengths. Don't be one of those people who needs to ' _find_ themselves' –"

"There's nothing wrong with that!"

"— and just _try_ the positions, okay?" she finished, looking frustrated. "How do you know you'll hate them if you haven't tried?"

It was a good point – not that Rose would admit it.

"I'm getting there," she said. "I just don't want to rush into anything."

Her mum threw her hands up. "Fine. Waste your time and waste your hard-earned money. If that's what you want to do, be my guest."

" _Mum_." Rose's gut wrenched like she'd gotten punched. This was why she never responded to letters, why she'd never talk to her; as soon as she didn't agree, her mum would corner her with her no-nonsense attitude and unfailing logic, unable to accept that Rose might have a different opinion.

"And what were you doing with Scorpius Malfoy?" her mum continued. "We know what that family did, Rose. You have to be very careful around them."

This ignited a spark in Rose.

"We're _friends_ ," Rose defended fiercely, "and he's nothing like what they say in the papers. He keeps his head down and he's honest and works really hard. The rumours aren't fair, okay?"

Her mum was so taken aback, she held up her palms towards Rose. "Okay, okay. I believe you."

"Okay." Rose still felt annoyed, but she tried to shake it off. "Look, I know you don't like it, but I'm going to figure out this situation on my own. I don't need you to hold my hand."

"I still think we need to talk about this. Like adults."

Rose thought that was a bit rich, as her mum was the one who'd started all the yelling in the first place.

"I don't," she replied stubbornly. "And since I'm an adult and all, I'll let you know what I've decided when I do."

Her mum looked like she'd been smacked.

"All right," she said sharply, tight-lipped, "fine." And then she strode out of Rose's flat, nearly slamming the door behind her as she left.

The silence that settled afterwards was deafening, and Rose stood there for a long time afterwards, wishing that taking a different path in life didn't mean everyone had to stick their noses in to shout their disapproval. She wished that just talking about jobs didn't have to always end like this: staring after her mum, knowing she'd disappointed her again.

 _Well_ , Rose thought, searching for a bright side, _at_ _least she knocked_.

* * *

A/N: Hi hi! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Anyone surprised by Rose's reaction to her bookstore shift, or her mother? Anyone know what Scorpius wanted to ask?

Hope you're all staying safe and healthy. Have a lovely weekend :)


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

**Chapter Twenty-One**

"You're a hypocrite."

"Huh?" Scorpius woke suddenly as Rose sat down at the edge of his mattress in the dark.

It was the middle of the night, and even though every fibre of her being told her not to go over to Scorpius' flat, she found herself over there, even turning the handle when he hadn't answered the door.

"You're a hypocrite," she whispered again, gently drawing her fingers through his hair. "Your door was unlocked. You're always giving me shit for not locking my door."

"I kept it unlocked for _you_ ," he countered sleepily, as though it were obvious.

"You did?"

"Although, I did think you would've come over hours ago," he said, squinting at his clock.

"I was a bit busy." After her mum had left, Rose had spent a long time going through the pile of mail, drafting a few replies but ultimately hadn't been able to make any decisions. Even though she still felt undecided, at least she wasn't ' _wasting her time_ ' as her mum had so directly implicated.

It had been quite late when she finished, but after eating a little too much of that frozen pizza – it wasn't _so_ bad, really – she couldn't sleep. It didn't help that her brain was running on overdrive and anxiety was viciously squeezing in her chest.

"You look exhausted," Scorpius said, shifting over. "Come here."

Rose hesitated. "I didn't – um, we don't have to –"

The raise of his eyebrows was enough to stop her spluttering and climb under the covers. The spot was still warm from his body but she still fisted the blankets in her hands, snuggling in.

"Are you okay?" he asked, voice quiet.

"I'm fine." Her eyes closed as he pulled her into his chest, cheek meeting his soft t-shirt. "I should've just answered her letters."

"Hmm."

"She'll forgive me." Rose inhaled deeply; he smelled like soap and earth, and it was comforting. "Eventually."

Scorpius didn't reply. She didn't want to talk about it, and he understood.

* * *

Scorpius fell asleep soon after she arrived, breathing steady above her ears. Rose stayed in a half-asleep state most of that night, but her mind had thankfully halted its racing long before the sun lit the space in between the blinds, glowing reds and oranges across Scorpius' apartment walls.

His watch beeped early – seven o'clock was way too early for his fifteen-minute commute, in Rose's opinion – and she heard him silence the alarm, give out a low groan and burrow his face in her hair. An hour went by and he slept on, but Rose couldn't let him sleep any longer. No matter how warm and relaxed she felt.

"Scorpius, you have to get up," Rose whispered, squeezing his arm. "It's Monday."

He sighed deeply, pushing his lips onto her neck and keeping his eyes closed. He was clearly awake, but very sleepy. "Good morning."

"Good morning."

"I think I got used to sleeping in a bit more these past few days," he said quietly. "I haven't slept that much in years."

"Looks like you needed that vacation." And before she could stop herself, she blurted, "I didn't see you much this weekend."

"I knocked once, but you weren't home," he said, shrugging. Then he suddenly grinned. "Why, did you miss me?"

"No," she said quickly, "I was just wondering – you know, after what we talked about –"

"It's okay," he interrupted her, looking much too smug for her liking. "I missed you too, Rose."

And then he was kissing her, turning so he was nearly on top of her, lips sensibly closed. Any tension she felt from her slip-up melted away from her muscles as her fingertips brushed his jaw; they clearly had a mind of their own. Everything about it was soft, from his mouth to his skin to the cotton sheets around them.

He broke away and squinted at his clock, somehow making out the numbers even though his glasses were sitting on his bedside table. "I should probably get up, shouldn't I?"

"Probably." Her heart was still racing, so she took a couple of deeper breaths.

"What are you going to do today?" he asked, leaning back down onto his pillow instead.

"Nothing much," she said, tracing at the neckline of his shirt. She noticed he had a line of dark moles – not quite freckles – that led down his chest.

"You should get some more sleep," he suggested.

"Yeah," she agreed, though she was definitely going to work on her job search. She knew that she was being a little two-faced, hiding the barrage of interviews and offers from him, but she didn't want to rub it in his face. "Anyway, I know you just told me last night, but have you signed up for your classes yet?"

"Yep, should be getting confirmation soon," he said, smile faltering.

"What?"

"I dunno. I guess I keep doubting my decision. I'm not used to that, honestly."

"Is it expensive?"

"Money's not an issue," he dismissed. "I like Potions, too, I just blanked on my exam in Seventh Year. I'm just wondering if it's a waste of time.

Rose tried not to cringe at his choice of words; he couldn't know what her mother had said the night before. "I don't think it's a waste of time. At least you won't spend all that time wondering what you could've done, right?"

"I've spent a lot of time already, actually."

"Better late than never."

"That's true." He searched her eyes, but she wasn't sure what for. "I'm bracing myself for the lecture my father is going to unleash on me today."

"I know all about that," she said light-heartedly, making him smile. "Whatever he says, just remember the point is to try to get into that Herbology program, and in the long run, it will probably help the Apothecary. Even if he doesn't understand that right now."

He let out an exhausted breath and looked away.

"Scorpius." She tugged on his sleeve.

"I know they probably won't let me into that program, even after the course," he mumbled, sounding a little dejected, "and my father will point that out for sure."

"That isn't fair." She felt more upset about it than she thought she would. "That isn't fair at all."

"It's true, though."

"You'll still try, though, won't you? You'll talk to him?"

"Yes." She looked up and glared at him, and he laughed. "Yes, I will. Relax."

"Good. By the way," she asked, suddenly remembering, "what did you want to ask me last night?"

"Oh." He turned a little pink. "Right. Well, I was thinking how we've been hanging out for a while, and obviously we – oh _shit,_ is that the time? I'm going to be so late –"

Scorpius leapt out of bed and jammed his glasses on his face, not noticing the very uncomfortable turn in Rose's stomach as he ran to his bathroom. She wasn't sure what he was about to say, but the way he was tripping over his words and rambling made her nervous.

Still, knowing he'd need some coffee but he definitely wouldn't have time to pick one up, Rose made her way back to her flat to quickly make him a cup. She caught him just as he was coming out and locking his door and handed him a travel mug.

"You're actually an angel," Scorpius said in grateful surprise, quickly pecking her forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and practically flew down the stairs.

Rose went back to her flat, shaking her head and wondering how Scorpius could put his head down and just keep at it, day after day. Especially now that she knew he had ideas and dreams that he had no choice to suppress.

She wanted to help. Somehow _._

But what could she do, anyway? If she got a job at the Ministry, she certainly would be able to give him a referral, but it wouldn't be anywhere in Scorpius' field. And even if she wanted to, it would take months before she would be able to refer him to any job, let alone one in his field.

But… she was a Weasley, wasn't she?

Suddenly feeling a little more awake, Rose sat down at her table and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment.

* * *

Rose was pumped to run her 5K. No, really.

She'd spent the previous day sending a couple of responses out, but otherwise, she'd taken the day to herself. She drew up a bath, put a face mask on, lit a candle, turned on some music and spent enough time in there until she was thoroughly pruny and read through half a book. Maybe it was a little lazy, but no one could be productive _all_ the time.

After a restful night of sleep, Rose met Skye early in the morning at the park. Skye was stretching by the water and pulling her long brown hair up into a ponytail, and she waved Rose over before leaning down to tighten her shoelaces.

"Ready?" she asked as Rose approached her.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Rose felt giddy energy building in her limbs as she joined the stretching. "I was really close to my goal last time. Thirty-one minutes."

"We're going to make it under thirty minutes even if I have to drag you there," Skye promised, grinning.

A few more minutes of stretching and they were off, Rose's stopwatch racing through milliseconds as they began their run. Skye was naturally a step ahead of her, but to her credit, she was doing her best to match Rose's slower pace.

Rose didn't let this bother her; in reinventing herself, running was about creating a habit of exercising. Before, she barely kept any habits she would be proud of besides being diligent in washing her makeup off every night. The running goal was simply a motivation to keep going. Really, she wanted to be one of those people who felt strange when they _didn't_ exercise.

Maybe one day. Reinventing could take a while.

"Five days 'till the wedding, eh?" Skye said as they turned a corner on the trail.

"That's right," Rose replied, trying to not make her rapid breathing too obvious. "I'm surprised there haven't been any fires to put out yet."

"There have been, they just haven't told you."

"Because of my fight with Al, I guess." Rose was actually okay with that; dealing with wedding drama was extremely stressful, and she would love to be excluded from it.

Skye shrugged. " _Six_ days until I break up with Everett."

"Wait, really?"

"Yep." Skye sounded nonchalant. "I dunno, it just hasn't been working out. He's so bloody needy sometimes, and I'm too fucking busy for it. But I already invited him to the wedding, so I'm kind of stuck with him until then."

Rose snorted.

They ran in silence for a while, and Rose tried to match Skye's slightly quicker pace. Generally it was fine, but every few minutes, she had to slow down considerably. Still, at least her slowest jog was faster than the walkers in the park. She could be proud of that.

"Do you ever get lonely?" Rose asked Skye sometime later.

Skye paused, as though she hadn't expected the question. "I mean, sure. But it's not a good reason for me to stay with Everett when we're at each other's throats." Skye glanced at Rose. "Why, do you?"

"Sometimes." She thought of Scorpius – specifically, why she slept with him in the first place. But loneliness was definitely not the reason she slept with him now. "Yeah."

Rose tried to push the thought away, but she couldn't help wondering what Scorpius had wanted to ask her. The curiosity had been nagging at her since the day before, even as she tried her best to avoid it. She had a sinking feeling that she'd driven him a bit mad, and he didn't want to put up with her bullshit she called an existential crisis. That maybe he didn't want to be friends anymore.

But how long were they going to keep this going? Rose was fine being single now, but she wanted to get married one day. She'd always wanted at least one kid. She wasn't sure, but Scorpius was obviously the marriage type; surely he wanted to get married again one day? Maybe he'd moved on and found someone he wanted to be with. Rose wouldn't want to get in the way of that.

"Earth to Rose?" Skye called, waving a hand in front of her eyes. "We're going to pick up speed for the last five minutes so we can make it."

"Really?"

"Your legs are going to _burn_ ," Skye said happily, and Rose winced. They were already burning.

Still, she gritted her teeth and channelled that nervous energy out of her brain and into her legs. Her breath was rapid and she couldn't hide it anymore. The pavement was steady beneath her as they sprinted towards the last part of the trail, right by the animal crossing post where Rose had measured out five kilometres on her map.

They passed the post. Rose's watch beeped madly at her wrist as it hit thirty minutes.

She did it.

 _She did it_.

"That was definitely under thirty minutes!" Skye said as they slowed to a stop and Rose leaned over, trying her best to catch her breath. "Congratulations!"

"Holy shit," Rose panted, clutching her side. "That last… that last sprint…"

"Breathe," Skye advised, grinning. She was out of breath as well, but seeing as she made that run regularly, it wasn't nearly as strenuous. "Try not to die, yeah?"

Rose let out a breathless chuckle.

"The next goal would be to _keep_ doing this, you know," Skye pointed out, "at least until you don't feel like collapsing every time."

"I have to do this _again_?" Rose joked, making Skye laugh.

"All right," Skye announced, slinging an arm around her and forcing her to start walking again, "this calls for mimosas!"

"It's the middle of the week, Skye," she said, laughing.

"So?"

Rose didn't have an answer for that. Really what she wanted to do was tell Scorpius about completing her goal; somehow, she knew that he'd be happy for her. But he was working. And Skye didn't know about him.

So, they went for mimosas.

* * *

Around midday, Rose received an owl from Albus to meet him at their favourite lunch place near the Ministry – but not for lunch. It was nearly five o'clock when she arrived at the restaurant, and with a quick peek through the window, she could see Albus already there, sitting at their table and stirring a spoonful of sugar into his tea.

It was quiet in the restaurant, and she heard the door jingle much too loudly as she walked in. Albus looked uncharacteristically nervous as she sat down, tapping his nails rhythmically on the table.

"You got out of work early," Rose acknowledged, settling in her seat.

"Yeah, just a little." He took a sip of his tea, and she noticed a notebook open beside his mug. There were quite a lot of scribbles and crossings out on the page, though she couldn't read it upside-down.

"What's that?"

He looked sheepish. "My vows."

"You left it rather last minute, didn't you?" Rose asked, trying not to laugh.

"No, no!" he protested, swiping a hand through his already messy jet-black hair. "I've been working on them for months, it's just… it got a bit lost among all the other bullshit I had to do."

The waitress came up to their table with a cheery wave. After Rose ordered a coffee, she leaned her elbows on the table and gave him a sympathetic smile. "Five days then?"

"Yeah."

"Are you ready?"

Albus rubbed his eyes, knocking his glasses askew. "The thing is, I'm really ready for this all to be over to just be _married._ I'm ready to not have this expensive, stressful thing looming over our heads and for Charlotte to stop acting so crazy."

"Is she all right?" Rose asked. "It seems like she's really losing it."

"Her parents have gone absolutely mad," he explained. "They want to change everything at the last minute. We booked a band for the reception, but we had to lose the deposit to get a DJ. We hired a videographer and their team, but they got confused and hired another photographer and the whole thing was just a mess."

"Wow," Rose said, taken aback, "that sounds –"

"Even the bloody _flowers_ weren't the right colour anymore, but luckily we charmed those when her parents weren't looking." Albus' eyes were wide and wild, and she felt caught off guard.

"You're making me not want to ever get married," Rose joked, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled, but looked pained. "Sorry."

"It's okay." The waitress brought her coffee, so she distracted herself by adding milk. "I didn't realize how much shit you had to deal with last-minute."

"You had your own thing going on. I get that now."

"Yeah."

"Listen." He sat up straighter and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the house. I swear I didn't mean to keep it from you, Rose."

"I know," she said, looking down at her coffee. "I know."

"I'm just not used to this," he continued. "It was easy when you were right there, you know? It was easy to just come home, find you sitting on the couch and just tell you everything. It's always been like that."

"Right." She nodded; it had been their reality since they were eleven, growing up in Gryffindor straight to living together after graduation. "I guess I just had more time to think about all this since I lost my job."

"Now I have to put all this effort," he said lightly, making her chuckle. "I'm not used to it. It's a shitty explanation, but I'll get better at this."

Rose smiled. "Thanks, Al."

"I'm sorry I kicked you out."

"I think I'm actually glad you did," she said slowly, fidgeting with the handle of her mug. "It took me a while to realize it, but it was time. I don't even know what I was waiting for, you know?"

"And now you're a new-and-improved Rose?" he teased.

"Something like that. I ran five kilometres in thirty minutes today."

"All thanks to me, of course."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she said, rolling her eyes. He grinned.

There was a silence as they sipped their drinks, but it was comfortable. Rose felt herself relax a little bit; maybe they could work this out, after all.

"Did I tell you I've been trying to get back in the field?" Albus asked after swallowing. "Charlotte's been really upset with me."

"Why?" Rose asked. "You love the field."

"She's nervous. The field is obviously more dangerous."

"I suppose I can understand that."

"But I'm going _insane_ in the office," he confessed. "I know it's only been a year, but I miss the field. I'd even work with my idiot brother just to get out, you know?"

Rose hadn't realized Albus had been going through his own job issues. The main reason Albus had transferred out of the field – besides the higher pay, of course – was because he absolutely hated working with James. She knew Albus would probably be complaining about his older brother as soon as they were working together again.

"I think you should do it," Rose said anyway, "and this time, you form your own Auror team. Don't let James bully you around."

"That's what I'm hoping for eventually. _Wait_ , I nearly forgot," Albus said suddenly, jumping in his seat. "Speaking of work… there was actually more to why I asked you to meet me."

She frowned. "What's that?"

He reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. "Congratulations, Rose. You got the job in the Auror Office."

Rose nearly fell off of her chair.

"Are you serious?" she asked weakly, taking the letter from him and unfolding it. But clear as day, stamped with the officially Ministry logo, Rose had an offer in her hands for the assistant position.

"I'm supposed to negotiate you down," Albus said, grinning as he slipped another piece of parchment her way, "but this is the highest pay we can do, and we need you, so… take it."

Rose read the amount and had to try her best not to spit her coffee everywhere.

"I was really worried," she said after a few moments, blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "This whole time I was applying to a bunch of positions, but I barely heard back from anyone. I botched my interview with _Spellbound_ pretty badly."

"It happens," Albus reassured.

Rose explained her whole mailbox debacle. Albus only nodded along and shrugged, and it was nice to finally talk about it with someone who understood their famous families. "As it turns out, I got a couple of interviews and offers. Some of them expired, but I set up some interviews for next week."

"Like what?"

"A lot of reception-type stuff at the Ministry," she explained. "You know, sort of like what I was doing before. And for a while, I was considering working at a bookshop –"

"Don't do that," he dismissed immediately, brow furrowed. "That's an absolute shit job."

"It's not!" She felt her stomach twist. "It's not bad, it's just not right for me."

He looked incredulous. "The pay's going to be awful, Rose. You know how bad the book business is right now."

"I know it's bad," she said quickly, and he seemed surprised. "It's in a dire state. I offered the owner of Flourish and Blotts some help in getting more of her owl orders up to speed, but she refused. I swear she hasn't thought about it since the nineties."

"I don't know why you bother," Albus said wearily. "See, this is why you should take the job at my office. You're way too smart to just sit around and wait for customers, and I swear you'll get promoted in no time."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "There's a lot more to it than that."

"Clearly _not_ , since you just said the owner won't even let you update her owl-order service."

Rose pursed her lips shut, and Albus sighed.

"Look, don't take another shit job," he said, leaning forward. "You were stuck for so many years, but it actually looks like you're trying to figure something out for your life. Don't take a job where you can't grow, okay?"

"Merlin, Albus. Do you get a bonus or something if I sign on?" Rose jabbed back.

He leaned away, looking hurt. "No, not at all. I just care about you."

Rose sighed, knowing they were at a standstill again. Maybe they were communicating again, but he was still judgemental as ever. She couldn't figure out how he could be simultaneously so easy to talk to but also not understand her all.

"Don't shut me out, Rose," he said quietly, breaking the silence.

"I'm not, you just…" She trailed off. "You don't get it."

"Then _make_ me get it," he insisted pleadingly. "I don't want to fight anymore."

"I don't want to fight either, it just keeps happening."

"Okay, okay," he said, holding his hands up. "I took tonight off from everything else to make time for you. I'm going to keep doing that after all the honeymoon, too. I promise."

Rose smiled cautiously. "You will?"

"Yeah." Albus dropped some change from his pocket beside their mostly-empty mugs on the table. "Do you want to come over? Takeaway and movie?"

"I thought you didn't do that anymore," Rose teased. "Remember? You said it was time for us to grow up and stop enjoying ourselves?"

"I was wrong about that." His voice was tight, like it was a difficult admission. "I was definitely wrong about that."

"Yeah, you were."

"I might be losing my mind." He stood, pushing his chair back. "Anyway, are you coming over?"

"Oh." Rose paused, tongue-tied all of a sudden. "I have plans."

"Oh, right. I should've checked with you." Then something seemed to dawn on Albus. "Wait, with Malfoy?"

"We're friends," she said immediately.

Albus started laughing. "Rosie, I might be thick sometimes, but I'm not _blind._ "

"There may be certain benefits involved," she said, face feeling warm, "but we're just friends."

"All right," he said, amused. "I'll forgive you for not telling me about Malfoy if you forgive me about not telling you about the house."

"Deal."

"Good."

I really do mean it, Al," Rose said as they stood up. "We're just friends. All we're going to do is cook dinner and watch a movie."

She definitely wasn't going to add that when Scorpius mostly got bored halfway through the movie, he would either fall asleep or they would end up fucking on the couch. Could go either way, really.

"Well, if you're _friends_ , you won't mind if I join, right?" Albus said with a knowing grin.

Rose opened and closed her mouth soundlessly; she couldn't argue with that.

"Fine," she decided as they got outside, heading towards her building. "But I'm picking the movie."

"It's been forever since I picked the movie!"

"That's your own fault," she pointed out, and Albus pouted. Despite the heat, he slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a sideways hug as they walked. The tension was easing, and even though they still had a wall between them, it seemed to be made of cardboard rather than brick.

She could work with that.

* * *

A/N: Hii! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Rose ran her 5K and she and Albus are working things out, sort of! haha. Thank you so much for reading, and please let me know what you thought :)

Next: Albus crashes Rose and Scorpius' movie night.


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Rose was not freaking out. Not at all.

Still, she thought that perhaps it would be best to warn Scorpius about Albus, perhaps going over to his flat instead of waiting for him to knock. Instead, Rose and Albus managed to run into him right as they reached the third floor, key in the lock and about to enter his flat.

Of course, Albus wasn't about to miss _any_ opportunities.

"Malfoy!" he called, rushing over before Rose could yank him back. "Good to see you."

Scorpius glanced between Rose and Albus, either suspicious or confused – maybe a bit of both. "Er, same to you."

"Glad you're actually dressed this time."

"Al!" Rose hissed, elbowing his side.

"We were about to watch a movie," Albus continued, ignoring Rose and holding up a bag of styrofoam takeaway containers they'd picked up. "We have plenty of food. Join us?"

There was a brief silence as Scorpius stared at the two of them, clearly caught off guard. After all, Albus was crashing on their plans, not the other way around, and he'd never shown any interest in befriending Scorpius before. When he met her gaze, Rose sent him an apologetic smile and something softened in his features.

"Okay," he agreed, turning back to his door and pushing it open. "I'll bring drinks."

"Brilliant," Albus said, dragging Rose over to her flat.

They'd just gotten settled on the couch when Scorpius arrived, carrying a large bottle of wine. He'd taken off his lab coat but was still wearing his work clothes, buttoned-up as always. Rose wished Albus wasn't there so she could grab Scorpius by the collar and snog him.

"Albus followed me home," Rose told Scorpius as he sat down beside her.

" _Oi_ , I resent that," Albus said, throwing his feet up on the coffee table. "Rosie, can I move this shit so I can see properly?"

He was pointing to the pile of wood that still had yet to be a bookshelf.

"Let me do it," Rose said quickly, whipping out her wand so fast she nearly poked Albus in the eye. "It's delicate."

"It's not going to break, it's literally in its broken state."

After shifting her unfinished work to the corner, Rose grabbed the remote control for the television and turned it on to flick through the movie options she had.

"What kind of films do you like, Malfoy?" Albus asked, looking over Rose's head to direct his question. "Are you into action, comedy? Horror?"

"Er, I dunno," he replied, shrugging. "I didn't grow up watching them, so Rose chooses what we watch. Not a huge fan of movies so far."

"That's because Rosie is absolutely shit at choosing movies."

"Hey!" she exclaimed, shooting Albus a dirty look.

"It's true," he said pointedly. "If Roxanne or Hugo were here right now, they'd agree with me. You know it."

"That would explain a lot, actually," Scorpius put in, grinning at Rose. "The ones you've shown me are kind of sappy."

"I cannot believe this," Rose grumbled, digging back on the seat cushions and crossing her arms over her chest. Albus complaining about Rose's film choices was a regular occurrence, but usually no one else ever had this critique.

On the other hand, she started to relax. Perhaps Albus had taken what she'd told him to heart about his judgemental comments. It didn't escape her that between Roxanne, Albus and her mother, Albus had been the only one to have a somewhat open mind about Scorpius.

Maybe Rose had freaked out too soon.

"Okay, before we start whatever terrible movie you choose," Albus said loudly, holding up his notebook, "I really need you to help me with my wedding vows."

Scorpius started laughing. "Wait, seriously?"

"It's hard to figure out what to say," Albus complained.

"No, it's not." He reached over to take the notebook and grabbed a spare quill that Rose had lying on the table. Flipping to a blank page, he drew four quadrants before beginning to label them, speaking as he wrote. "First, you say something that you love about her, and why you're promising anything in the first place."

"That's the only thing I have so far," Al admitted.

"Second," he said, switching to the next box, "you say something really romantic and generic, something that you already do and you're going to keep doing."

Rose nudged Albus' leg. "Charlotte loves that you cheer her up when she's down. She always says that, even though it's obvious."

"Thirdly, you want something funny," Scorpius continued. "Figure out something she hates, then promise not to do it anymore."

"Cleaning," Al said immediately. "I am so bad at cleaning." Rose agreed with a wince.

"Be very specific," Scorpius advised. "The last one is just the lead up to how you're looking forward to the future. Say something in particular that you'll do with her together."

After a quick underline, Scorpius returned the notebook to Albus, who looked a bit dumbstruck.

"Bit formulaic, isn't it?" he observed.

"It works, and you don't want to fuck it up, do you?" Scorpius questioned back.

"How do you _know_ all this?" Albus muttered, reading through his neatly penned words on the page. Rose could tell Scorpius was avoiding her gaze, but she definitely had a sense by now that he wouldn't want to go into his wedding-slash-divorce details with Albus.

"I'm surprised, Al," Rose interrupted before Scorpius could reply, "you're always the responsible one. Why is this so last minute?"

"Let's eat first," Albus suggested instead. "I can't do feelings on an empty stomach."

Scorpius snorted. "Agreed."

The three served themselves dinner, opening all the steaming and rather oily containers of Chinese food. Rose and Albus had picked their favourites: noodles, spring rolls, rice and plenty of fried chicken.

"I'm going to get plates and cutlery," Rose decided, wrinkling her nose at the flimsy plastic forks. "Anyone else?"

"Rose, it's takeaway," Albus said in a bored voice. "The whole point is that you don't do dishes."

Scorpius grinned sheepishly. "I'll take the real thing, please."

"You too, Malfoy?" Albus almost sounded betrayed.

"I'm not the one doing the dishes," he pointed out, making Albus laugh.

"That's not the only reason," Rose said, getting up to grab the dishes from her kitchen cupboards. She put down a few wine glasses onto the table. "Scorpius is actually very particular about eating food off of real plates."

"It makes the food taste better," Scorpius defended as he popped open the bottle of wine and poured it into three glasses.

Albus whistled appreciatively at the bottle. "Malfoy, you got the good stuff, didn't you?"

"I aim to please," Scorpius said dryly, making them laugh.

"We're watching Forrest Gump, by the way," Rose told them.

Al brightened considerably. "Okay, that's actually a really good movie."

"Is it?" Scorpius sounded sceptical, but his eyes drew to the screen as the movie began.

"I swear. So, what was all that with Aunt Hermione at the bridal shower?" Albus asked, heaping a large serving of noodles onto a plate. "What did you do?"

"Who says I did anything?" Rose asked defensively. "For all you know, I was just saving myself from her wrath."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, what did _she_ do?"

"Okay, she didn't do anything," Rose admitted, making Albus laugh.

"This was the thing about the letters, wasn't it?" Scorpius asked, forking a spring roll and taking a crunchy-sounding bite. "What happened?"

"Rosie put in a lot of effort to avoid her mum on Saturday," Albus explained, ignoring the daggers in Rose's expression that she was sending towards him. "She roped me into it, of course."

"You offered to help!"

"I don't help for _free_ ," Albus corrected with a knowing grin. "And you got away, didn't you?"

"You're the worst cousin ever." She shifted away from him and curled her legs under herself before taking a long sip of wine. "She's just been impossible about the whole job search. She doesn't get that I want to figure it out on my own and keeps hounding me with letters."

"Aunt Hermione helped me write a resume, actually, way back when I graduated from the Auror Academy. I would hear her out, at least."

"I knew you wouldn't get it," Rose mumbled, busying herself with chewing a large piece of chicken to avoid his confused expression. To his credit, Albus frowned, but kept quiet.

To Rose's surprise, Scorpius watched the movie quite intently. He usually gave it a chance in the beginning, but any interest would quickly melt away as the story went on. This time, Scorpius was completely absorbed by the screen, laughing at all the right parts and chewing absent-mindedly on his food; Rose had _never_ seen him not paying attention to what he was eating.

She hid her smile behind a sip of wine.

* * *

Sometime later, during a lull in the movie, Albus poked her arm with the back of his fork. "So, Rosie, aren't you going to share the good news?"

"What's that?"

"You got a job offer," he reminded her, sounding a tad annoyed.

This caught Scorpius' attention. He turned to her, a grin growing on his lips. "Really, Rose? It finally happened?"

"Um, yeah," she said weakly.

But then it hit Rose. Perhaps it was because she'd spent so long avoiding thinking about the subject, but she suddenly realized she had a legitimate offer. Nothing like the small positions she'd gotten in the mail without even doing an interview, but something she had to work at to do well. Something she could _fail_ at.

Okay, she was freaking out now.

"That's fantastic, isn't it?" Scorpius asked, peering at her.

"Yes." She swallowed, somehow knowing he could sense the fear that was suddenly racing through the marrow of her bones. His smile faltered a little, confirming her theory. "Yes, it's wonderful. Albus recommended me for the job, I'm really grateful."

"Oh, I see." He turned back to the screen, but put an arm around the back of her seat. Even that was a little comforting, and she felt her heart slowing down.

"I hope you take it," Albus said happily, oblivious to the two of them. "It would be brilliant if we worked in the same office. I mean, I'm trying to get back into the field, but I'd see you way more, right?"

Rose _did_ appreciate that part, at least.

"It's a lot of technical reading and writing," she said, staring at her half-eaten spring roll. She wasn't going to deny that she wouldn't look forward to that part of the job.

"You're great at analyzing that shit," Albus assured. "Remember in school? The way you put your essays together was like this whole other kind of magic. You'll be great at this."

Just because she was good at it didn't mean she enjoyed it. She knew Albus was looking at her expectantly, waiting for an answer, but she still wasn't sure.

The movie flickered onwards. Albus and Scorpius both cleared their plates but Rose's food turned cold, left half-eaten on her plate. She poured herself a second glass of wine anyway, choosing not to think about the conversation that had transpired in spite of Forrest Gump running through a warzone.

Rose could run, couldn't she?

She could also read and analyze text, that was true. She had some high grades on her transcript – didn't that count? And then she felt inexplicably angry with herself; why couldn't she just figure out what she wanted? Why couldn't she just _know_ so she didn't have to disappoint everyone she loved? Why couldn't she just choose something and just try it out for some time, just to see what it was like?

Forrest Gump certainly made decisions and stuck to them. Why couldn't she?

"It occurs to me," Albus said much later, frowning at the television, "that if a bloke like Forrest Gump can figure things out without planning everything out, maybe I should ease up. Maybe you don't need a plan to get through life."

Rose chuckled. "Maybe you plan too much, Al."

"You can't plan your life," Scorpius put in. "Life isn't linear. Shit happens."

"I guess. Look at James," Albus said, referring to his older brother. "When was the last time James planned something?"

"He's planning a proposal to his weird girlfriend," she said, then considered it again. "Well, sort of. He said he's going to wing it."

Albus burst into laughter. "Of course he is. Merlin, I spent _months_ planning my proposal."

"Maybe that's why James is good in the field," Rose suggested with a shrug. "He thinks on his feet, you know? It's good when he's trying to duel with someone, you can't plan exactly what the other person will do."

"It's an advantage, definitely. Probably why he got promoted faster than me." He sighed heavily. "I _should_ plan less. I'm definitely not going to help plan a wedding again."

"No?" Rose teased. "You're handling it so well."

"I'm so in over my head," he groaned, ruffling his messy hair. "I wasn't expecting to pay for a fucking _house_ right after a wedding, you know? We've been saving for years, but… it's a lot all at once."

"Everything sort of piled up for you, didn't it?"

He sent her a grateful expression. " _Yes._ Fuck, I feel like I'm too young for this shit."

"Really?" she asked. She'd never thought of it that way at all. She thought everyone was moving forward in their life without her because she was behind – not that anyone else was _early_.

In the corner of her eye, she could see Scorpius smiling; he, of course, was nearly five years younger when he had gone through this. If Albus – always planning, cautious and safe – felt overwhelmed from his wedding, she couldn't imagine how Scorpius felt all those years ago.

"I know I'm ready," Albus explained, "and I know Charlotte's the one, but… it's all a bit fast, isn't it? I'm sort of freaking out, here."

It was comforting to hear, especially as Rose had been freaking out for half the evening.

"Is that why you said you didn't want to do movies and takeaway?" she asked, laughing. "Trying to grow up all at once, or something?"

"Please just forget I said any of that."

"It's _way_ too late for that, Albus. I'll be reminding you of this for literally the rest of your life."

Albus remedied his pain by grabbing Rose and squeezing the absolute shit out of her, which just made her squeal very loudly and laugh.

But she _did_ feel like she understood Albus better. She was starting to feel a tiny bit of regret, not because she'd stood up to him – that was a long-time coming – but because she could have timed it a little better. Having demanded his time right before his wedding was a shitty move on her part, wasn't it?

"So," Albus said, not noticing her guilty expression and pouring another glass of wine for himself. "Malfoy. Can I call you Scorpius?"

"Sure," he replied absent-mindedly, eyes still on the screen.

"Anyone special in your life?"

"Nope."

Albus had shrugged off his robes earlier, but he was still wearing his Auror badge on a lanyard around his neck, and he chose that moment to play with it openly. "What have you been up to since Hogwarts?"

"Working," Scorpius said, looking at him over Rose's head to properly explain his job at the Apothecary. It was obvious to Rose that Albus was thoroughly sussing him out, but she wasn't sure if Scorpius had really clued in. And why would he? They were just friends.

Not that Albus was going to go easy on him, regardless.

She was _not_ going to freak out about it. She wasn't.

"… and I've signed up for some Potions classes in September," Scorpius finished. Rose was surprised that he'd volunteered that information.

"Good for you. I'm absolute shit at Potions," Albus said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have taken that N.E.W.T. if the academy hadn't required it."

"You spent forever in the dungeons practicing," Rose remembered with a scowl, "and forced me to stay, too."

"If it weren't for me, you would've never studied at all."

"That's not true," she protested, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Rose is a very hard worker," Scorpius said unexpectedly, cutting between their banter. "She's a self-starter and perseveres through adversity. Not everyone is like that."

There was a brief moment of stunned silence.

"Yeah," Albus agreed, nodding and observing Scorpius closely. "Yeah, that's true."

Rose's cheeks felt warm. "Anyway. Scorpius is definitely going to get into a Herbology program and he'll probably invent an actual cure for Dragon Pox."

Scorpius smiled at her.

"That's all fine and dandy," Albus dismissed with a wave of his hand, "but here's the real question: what's your Quidditch team? And if it's the Cannons, I'm kicking you out."

"You can't kick him out of _my_ flat, Al," Rose said crossly.

"Magpies," Scorpius answered shortly, turning his attention back to the screen, "and will you two shut up? We're missing everything."

"Magpies over the Tornadoes?" Albus whispered, sounding thoroughly annoyed.

"Al…" Rose warned.

"Well, at least it's not the Cannons."

"Shush."

Scorpius didn't answer; he was frowning at the main character as they ran across the entirety of the United States, seemingly for no reason at all. Rose leaned into Scorpius' side, hoping it was subtle enough that Albus wouldn't notice.

Although both Rose and Albus had watched this particular film more times than they could count, they easily were enthralled with the ending and finally let Scorpius enjoy it properly. When the ending credits rolled down the screen, he stretched out his legs, seeming satisfied in the way Rose always felt after watching this film or finishing a great book.

"This was actually incredible," Scorpius said, sounding thoroughly impressed. "Why didn't you show me this movie before, Rose?"

"I bet she showed you a bunch of comedies," Albus said, shaking his head disappointedly as he turned to put his robes back on. "I'll show you some actually great movies next time, the ones that make you think and reconsider your entire life. And the ones with lots of explosions."

If Scorpius was surprised, he didn't show it. "Sure, that sounds good."

"You're both leaving already?" Rose asked as they stood up. Scorpius was helpfully stacking their dishes, but Albus was looking around her flat, probably for Floo Powder. "It's not too late if you're up for a game of Exploding Snap."

"Nah, I gotta see Charlotte before she goes to bed," Albus said, but he looked quite delighted at the thought. At least the disagreements and wedding preparation hadn't dampened their relationship. "I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah," Rose confirmed as he hugged her.

"I'll see you too, Malfoy," he said, giving him a nod. A few moments later, Albus had thrown the Floo Powder into the fireplace and disappeared into green flames.

Rose turned to Scorpius, who was carrying the dinner dishes to her sink. "Are you going to do my dishes after all?"

"Nope," he said immediately, "that's where I draw the line in politeness."

Rose laughed and followed him, waiting until his hands were free to wrap her arms around his middle. "I'm so sorry for tonight. I feel like Albus coerced you into this."

Scorpius snorted. "I don't do anything I don't want to do. It was fun."

"You did seem to enjoy the movie for once."

"Yeah." They broke apart. "I actually have to get going, too. I've started reviewing the Potions class material, but I'm too tired to do it after work."

"You get up early to study?" Rose asked, amazed. "I know you're a morning person and all, but that actually sounds like hell."

"So does the job your cousin offered you," he joked. When she didn't laugh, he looked at her closely. "Wait, are you going to take it?"

"Is that a bad idea?" she asked uneasily.

"No, it's just surprising." He smoothed her curls over her collarbone, keeping his fingers in her hair. "You've just been going on about how you want to find something you love doing, haven't you?"

Rose looked away. "Maybe I was wrong. My mum certainly thinks so."

"You weren't."

"I just don't know what I want yet," she explained feebly, "but I still have to pay my bills in the meantime, don't I? Unless I want to move back in with my parents or be homeless on the street."

Scorpius chuckled at this, but didn't reply.

She searched his expression. "You're disappointed."

"Why would I be disappointed?" he asked, taken aback.

"Because I'm taking a job I probably won't like."

Scorpius slid his hands down to her waist and pulled her closer. "I'm not disappointed. It's not your job to please me, your cousin, your mother or even your neighbour's cat. Besides, you make good decisions, mostly."

"Mostly?" she teased.

"I can't deal with your frozen pizza habits, okay?"

Rose laughed and found herself pulling at his collar, reaching on her toes and pressing her lips to his like she'd wanted to all evening. She hadn't even realized she'd done it before he was grabbing her bum and slanting his mouth against hers, like it was the most natural thing in the world. A grunt came from his throat that made her ache between her thighs.

Her hands slipped to his cheekbones and traced gently. His skin was hot under her fingers, burning nearly as much as she wanted him. His tongue teased hers until she sighed contentedly against his mouth. She felt him smile before kissing her again, slowly this time, dragging his teeth over her bottom lip.

Then he was breaking off the kiss much too early – as in, they were not naked yet, so what was his deal? – and Rose nearly bumped forward into him as he leaned away.

"I need to get up early tomorrow, remember?" he reminded her, looking reluctant.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Rose asked, only half-joking. She still had no idea what he wanted to talk about, but she could sense that right then wasn't the moment. Which was very confusing, if he didn't want to be friends anymore – why wouldn't he just say it?

"No," he said, still holding her close, "but I do have to go."

"Fine, fine."

He paused, trying not to smile. "'Rosie' is a cute nickname, by the way."

"Not you, too," she groaned. "Everyone's been calling me that forever, but I just feel like a little six-year-old when I do. Please don't call me that."

"I won't." His fingers played at her waist. "Doesn't sound like you. Not to me, anyway."

She stared at him, wondering what that meant.

"Though, you are adorable sometimes." Scorpius pulled her close and dropped a kiss at her hairline. "Good night, Rose."

* * *

True to his word, Albus did not have a free moment to speak with Rose until the night of the bachelor/bachelorette party. She'd dropped by his office to accept the offer, but he looked absolutely swamped with work and hadn't even looked up from his cubicle.

When Rose had visited his flat the day after, she found Albus trying to calm Charlotte, who was swearing furiously at a _shoe_ ; turns out, she'd tried to break in her new heels before the wedding, which then broke in a different way. Even if it was easily fixed by magic, Charlotte needed more consoling than strictly necessary.

It wasn't a great time.

After Rose and Roxanne spent far too long shopping for phallic-shaped party goods, they arrived at Albus' flat to find men everywhere, gathering for the bachelor party. Not that Rose would complain, but they were mostly her cousins.

"Charlotte is at her mum's until seven-thirty," Albus greeted Rose when she approached him; he was sitting on one of the barstools by the counter, a shot glass full of clear liquid in front of him. "That should give you all plenty of time to surprise her, yeah?"

"How much coffee have you had?" she joked as she and Roxanne hugged him quickly. His words were quick and seemed to jam together. "I took the job, by the way."

"I heard!" He looked extremely pleased. "I promise you're going to love it, Rose."

"Don't you hate the office?" Roxanne pointed out. "You've only been complaining about it every chance you have."

"He does." A voice behind them caused them to turn and see James striding up to them. He put an arm around Albus' shoulder, which clearly annoyed him. "He hates the office, and for good reason. It's boring as fuck."

Albus shot James a dirty look. "Rosie will like it just fine. She worked in the Transportation office for years, didn't she?"

"I wouldn't say I _liked_ it," Rose admitted.

Roxanne clicked her tongue impatiently. "Okay, we're wasting time here. You all should've been gone by now; we need to set up before Charlotte gets home."

"She's right, Al," James said, tightening his grip on his shoulder, "it's time for your first shot."

Albus glanced back at his shot glass, looking apprehensive. "I am terrible with vodka. You should've gotten Firewhiskey."

"Plenty of time for that later." James grabbed a passing cousin with his other arm – Fred – and both of them started chanting loudly, egging him on and capturing the attention of everyone in the room.

Clapping and loud cheers echoed through the apartment as Albus threw his head back and downed the vodka in one go. James finally left after that, leaving Albus to slam the glass down back on the counter and shudder, clearly trying not to cough.

"And _that's_ why I brought tequila," Roxanne muttered, just loud enough for Rose to hear.

"Fuck, I'm going to be so hungover tomorrow," Albus moaned. "Who invited James?"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "You did. He's your best man."

"Not by _choice_." Albus stood from the barstool, heaving a sigh. "All right, I'm going to make the rounds and get us all out of here."

"Try not to be _too_ excited," Rose called after him, making him snort.

Rose and Roxanne made their way to the bedroom to drop off their bags. Roxy was quick to root through the shopping bag to bring up a large poster board with a muscular man posed in his underwear and letters above him that read, 'Pin the Junk on the Hunk'. A red target covered his genitals.

"I can't believe this is a thing that we actually spent money on," Rose said, giggling.

"I know!" Roxanne looked a bit scandalized, but still excited. "Hey, would you mind getting some of these drinks in the fridge?"

"Oh, right." Rose grabbed the bag of drinks they'd picked up and headed back towards the kitchen. Albus was doing a spectacularly terrible job with rounding up his groomsmen; they were still sprawled everywhere, drinking beer and chatting. Rose had to duck around them to get to the fridge.

"Oof!" a male voice grunted.

Rose jumped; she belatedly realized that when she opened the fridge, she'd bumped the corner of the door into someone.

"Sorry!" she apologized instantly, shoving the drinks inside the fridge, still in the bag, and shutting the door. When she looked up, she found Nathan rubbing his arse gingerly.

"It's fine – Rose!" He brightened considerably, moving in immediately to put his arms around her. "Should've known you'd be here."

"Oh, hey." Rose tried to keep her voice calm, but her stomach went into complete overdrive with butterflies. She thought she was over the whole attraction thing, but apparently not; Nathan looked incredible in his dark, fitted dress shirt, which outlined literally every muscle in his upper body. He'd rolled up the sleeves because of the heat and she could see the veins jutting out in his forearms.

 _Fuck_.

"How are you doing?" he asked, pulling away and smiling in a way that made her blush. A lot.

"Really great," she replied, trying not to let her nervousness show in her grin. "Yeah, things have been going well. Just got another job."

He looked impressed. "Congratulations! I think Albus had mentioned that to me earlier."

"Thanks." Rose glanced around to avoid looking at him straight-on. "I'm surprised you got in here – did Al get you through Diagon Alley?"

"Yeah, he got me permission. I've been here a couple of times, actually," he told her. "I've been around a lot to help Charlotte with the wedding, and Albus and I have been getting along well enough. Well, enough to invite me to his bachelor party."

"That's good," she said, though the prospect of Nathan hanging around a lot made her jittery.

"Yeah, definitely." Nathan suddenly stepped back, eyeing her outfit for the bachelorette party and giving a low whistle. "I have to say, Rose, you look amazing."

She flushed even redder. "Thanks. Well, I gotta get ready for Charlotte, so…"

"Right, right." He flashed her another grin and backed out of the kitchen. "I'll see you later, then. Probably tonight, if all goes to plan."

After he left, Rose let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding and pressed her palms, still cool from the drinks, to her cheeks. She wondered if some people were allowed to be that perfect, because it was seriously unfair to non-perfect people like herself.

"What was that all about?"

Rose whipped around and saw Albus behind her, sitting at the barstool on the outside of the kitchen. She hadn't noticed him when she'd come in, but she should've figured; Albus hated mingling for too long.

"What was what?" Rose asked, dropping her fingers from her face.

"All that with Nathan." Albus was frowning. "That was weird. _You_ were acting weird."

"I was not," she defended, "I was just saying hi. He's my wedding date, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." He looked at her sceptically. "He was flirting with you."

"I guess."

"And you didn't stop him."

"How am I supposed to do that?" she asked, raising her shoulders. "I'm not going to be rude and turn down a compliment."

Albus still looked extremely confused. "You're redder than a fucking tomato. I thought you wanted to stay single and be independent. You've been saying a lot of shit like that lately."

"He's just my wedding date," she repeated defensively, "and it's a favour to _your_ fiancée, if you remember?"

"Don't talk about her like you're not friends."

"I'm not doing anything."

"You're being weird, Rose," he said again, but more strongly this time. "I dunno what's going on with you, but you can talk to me about it. I promise I won't judge you."

Rose took a deep breath. Albus not judging her was laughable. "Even if I believed you, I don't understand what the big deal is. So what if Nathan was flirting with me?"

"But what about Malfoy?" Albus asked, incredulous.

Rose stared at him; she _knew_ she had a good reason to freak out that night.

"What _about_ him?" she asked, perplexed. "We're friends. It's not like that with him."

"Oh yes, it is," he said with a disbelieving laugh. "It sure as hell is, unless I dreamed up that whole night that we all hung out. You are absolutely in love with him."

"I'm not!" The words were instant, tumbling out of her mouth on reflex. "We're just friends. We're really good friends, but just _friends._ I don't want to date him or hold hands or whatever it is I'm supposed to want."

"I've seen you two together now," he dismissed, as though Rose hadn't spoken. "I've honestly never seen you like that before."

"That's because I'm not in love with him," she said firmly. "It wasn't like that with Travis, remember?"

He snorted. "That's because you weren't in love with Davies."

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

"Yes, why are you talking instead of drinking?" James said loudly, coming up beside Albus. "Come on, we've got to get to the pub so you can do twenty more shots!"

Albus groaned, and Rose almost felt sorry for him. He was never one for parties.

"All right, let's do this," he mumbled, shoving the stool back and getting up. "At least we're not going to a strip club."

"You should really have an open mind, Al," his older brother reasoned, attempting to sound wise.

" _No_ ," Albus said firmly, rolling his eyes. Despite this, James was grinning wickedly behind his back.

And so the chaos began.

* * *

A/N: Helloo! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, there was lots of silliness that was a lot of fun to write! :) But the drama starts now, and the next few chapters are going to be quite dramatic - apologies in advance. But a fun dramatic, I promise! Anyone have any thoughts of Albus and Scorpius, or even Albus and Nathan?

Next: the bachelor/bachelorette party (of course).


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Despite Albus and his clearly delusional observations, Rose pushed it out of her mind and focused on setting up for Charlotte's bachelorette party. Albus didn't understand; what she and Scorpius had was different, and she might even call him her closest friend at this point. But it wasn't love.

Rose knew what being in love was like. She _did._

Right?

Nevertheless, Rose and Roxanne spent a long time blowing up pink metallic balloons and cleaning, so she was able to avoid the topic altogether. Charlotte was due to arrive very soon when Skye peeked into the apartment, finding Rose and Roxanne setting out wine glasses on a tray. They exchanged glances as Skye shut the front door behind her and heaved a relieved sigh.

"Oh, thank Merlin," Skye said, tossing her night bag on the floor and plopping down on the couch. "I thought Everett would be here."

"The boys left an hour ago," Rose told her.

"And we've been cleaning and setting up without you," Roxanne added, sending an annoyed glare in Skye's direction. "Where've you been?

Skye sighed again. "I'm sorry, I would've been here sooner. I just wanted to avoid Everett."

"Why?" Rose asked.

"We broke up. Sort of." Skye grabbed a couch cushion and pressed her face into it. "Fuck, it was so bad. I don't even know if we're actually broken up, he kept going on about how he didn't accept the breakup. Fucking stupid."

Rose turned to Roxy. "Did you see Everett earlier?"

"I think so."

"He might not go to the wedding," Skye mumbled into the pillow. As she spoke, the fireplace embers burst into green flames and Ella stepped out, blonde hair flying everywhere.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," she squeaked, dropping her bag beside Skye's. "I had to stay late for work and then my boss wouldn't stop going _on_ and _on_ …" She dropped down onto the couch beside Skye. "I'm so hungry I could eat a Hippogriff."

"It's all good," Roxanne said, sending her a smile. "Rose and I held down the fort."

"Why does Ella get excused for being late?" Skye whined.

"Because she has an actual excuse," Roxy retorted.

"Can we get some food?" Ella asked, grasping her stomach. "In case I wasn't clear, I am _starving._ "

"Shouldn't we wait for Charlotte?" Skye suggested.

"We wait for Charlotte, I will eat _you._ "

"I'm terrified," Skye said sarcastically, making them all laugh; she was easily five inches taller than Ella.

Fifteen minutes later, the flat looked clean, there was an array of makeup and hair items laid out on the coffee table and a tray of wine glasses at the ready in the kitchen. The smell of pizza was very evident, thanks to Ella. When Charlotte's key turned in the lock, the girls quickly ducked behind the loveseat, trying not to giggle.

"What the…?" Charlotte questioned as she walked in.

"SURPRISE!" As the girls jumped up, Charlotte dropped her purse. Unsurprisingly, she immediately teared up.

"Are you surprised?" Ella asked, leaping over to hug her.

"Not exactly," she admitted, wiping her eyes, "but this is so _nice,_ you didn't have to do this!"

Rose tried not to laugh; Charlotte could be such a Hufflepuff sometimes.

It wasn't long before music was playing, the wine was served and they were all seated around the coffee table, trying not to drop pizza on their outfits. Charlotte had definitely been tipped off, since she changed into a sparkly gold dress that none of them had ever seen before. Rose dropped a pink sash around her shoulders that read 'Bride to Be'.

They decided to 'Pin the Junk on the Hunk' as the poster so eloquently put it. They hung it on the wall and took turns to down a shot, blindfold and spun around before attempting to pin a picture of various phallic-shaped items onto the poster. Ella was the closest, pinning her cardboard aubergine onto the stomach; Skye had pinned her cucumber onto the head, whipped off her blindfold and said, "Well, it's _figuratively_ accurate!"

Between a few more games and the bottle of wine completely drained, their hair and makeup were done and the girls took enough pictures for Charlotte to fill three photo albums. Their heels clacked against the stones as they made their way to The Luxx, a high-end club that was hidden in the passageway between Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley _._

Once they were seated at their reserved table, Ella called for attention.

"Okay, Bride-to-Be," Ella said loudly over the crowd, "Next game. I found this Bachelorette Scavenger Hunt idea we can do."

"A scavenger hunt?" Charlotte repeated.

"We have a list," Ella explained, brandishing it from her purse. "No magic allowed. Five points each if you use a cheesy pick-up line, get a free drink from someone or grind someone on the dance floor. Ten points if you dance on the bar, snog someone or manage to convince a bloke to take his shirt off."

Charlotte was wide-eyed. "I'm not going to flirt with anyone."

"I will," Skye said sulkily.

"Fifteen points if you ask someone to marry you," Ella continued, laughing, "or if you share your dirtiest fantasies with the group, or if you do a body shot."

"Where did you get this from?" Charlotte asked, taking the list from Ella. "This is for the bachelorette party in hell."

"We are not drunk enough for this," Rose pointed out. Never mind the fact that she wasn't going to flirt or snog some random guy, not even for a game. She was _not_ in love with Scorpius, it just… didn't seem right to do that to him.

"What about if we play Never Have I Ever?" Rose suggested instead.

After a round of Firewhiskey and ordering drinks with fancy straws and colourful umbrellas, Ella began with, "Never have I ever… gone to a strip club."

Roxy drank, and all eyes went to her. "What? It was abroad when we were Curse Breaking, we just wanted to check it out. Noah came with me."

"Do you think Al's at a strip club right now?" Charlotte asked curiously.

"He definitely said he didn't want to go," Rose said, remembering from earlier that evening. And then she was remembering what he'd said before that. About her not being in love with Travis but somehow in love with Scorpius.

Rose refrained from chugging the remaining contents of her glass.

"Okay, my turn!" Charlotte thought for a long moment. "Never have I ever slept with a coworker."

"That's not fair," Ella complained, taking a drink. "You know I met Felix at work."

"It's not against the rules to know things," Charlotte teased.

"My turn," Roxy said, grinning. "I'm about to get all of you. Never have I ever been with more than one person."

They all groaned and drank. Skye booed and threw a crumpled napkin at her.

"How did you even manage to stay with the same person since Hogwarts?" Rose asked after swallowing. She suddenly imagined Scorpius with Annika in that moment, the wedding picture on the wall, and something twisted in her stomach.

Fuck, she wasn't in love with him. She _wasn't_.

"Simple," Roxy said, shrugging, "go on life-threatening adventures while Curse-Breaking that give you an inexplicable bond and make you realize that life is extremely short."

"So simple," Skye muttered. "All right. Never have I ever had sex in public."

Roxanne and Charlotte took a drink, and Rose narrowed her eyes at Skye. "You've shagged in public. Remember you told me about that time in the Quidditch locker rooms?"

Skye laughed. "Right, right. I forgot about that."

"Your turn, Rose," Ella said as Skye nearly downed her entire glass.

Rose stared at her margarita, biting her lip. "Never have I ever been in love."

Everyone else at the table took a sip.

"Okay," Ella began, hiccupping, "Never have I –"

"Wait!" Rose spluttered in disbelief. "I've literally just told you all I've never been in love, and no one bats an eyelid? I've had three boyfriends, haven't I?"

They all exchanged glances, clearly apprehensive.

"Rose," Roxy began, putting a hand on her arm, "no offense, but all your boyfriends have sucked. Of course you've never been in love with them."

She couldn't believe her ears. "I know they weren't great, but –"

"Oh, it's not because of that," Charlotte cut in, taking a sip of her martini. "It's totally possible to fall in love with a terrible person. No, you just never let yourself fall. Not really."

"I think it's more that Rose thinks love is like a fucking fairy tale," Skye disagreed. Rose became even more confused, and it clearly showed on her face. "It's true, okay? You're always going on about looks and butterflies and all that bullshit. That shit isn't love, it's lust."

Rose couldn't speak. She busied herself by taking a large mouthful of her drink.

"Tactful," Roxy scolded Skye, who shrugged. "Look, Rose, we know you. We understand you. But you never open up when it comes to your boyfriends. You always say it's too much pressure, and how exactly are you supposed to fall in love under pressure?"

"That's not true," Rose countered, but her voice sounded unsure.

"It is," Ella confirmed sympathetically. "You're such an open and lovely person with us, but once you think it's too much pressure? You get cold. We've all seen it."

"This is a fucking intervention, isn't it?" Rose realized. Her friends looked guilty; it was obvious they'd all discussed it and wanted to talk about it before, but hadn't felt comfortable. As if that wasn't the icing on the cake.

"But falling in love for the first time is magical," Charlotte added, and there was agreement around the table with nods. "I think Skye's wrong, there's definitely butterflies. But then there's this feeling like you can trust them and be _more_ with them, isn't there?"

"Yeah," Roxy said, smiling. "It's not perfect all the time, but it is like magic. Like you can't get close enough and all you want to do is understand them, but you never do."

The realization was crashing down on Rose, and hard. She remembered the defenses she would put up in her relationships, the arguments with Travis in which he said she was so closed off. Rose truly had never felt anything like what her friends had described.

" _Fuck_ , I've never been in love," she said, feeling dazed. Albus was right about that. But he wasn't right about Scorpius. He couldn't be.

"No shit," Skye said.

Rose dropped her head in her hands. "I need another drink."

"Anyway, it's my turn to get you all," Ella said, trying not to grin mischievously, "Never have I ever had a one-night stand."

" _Ella!"_

* * *

The girls were doing what they do best – singing loudly and dancing terribly in the middle of the dance floor – when Rose noticed the bachelor party stumbling into The Luxx. She watched as Albus made a beeline for Charlotte, excitedly wrapping his arms around her from behind. He was definitely quite drunk, his grin lopsided and giddy as he kissed the top of her head. A disgruntled James sulked behind him.

"Are you crashing our party, Al?" Roxy called loudly, laughing.

"We wanted to go to a strip club, but he figured it out," James said dejectedly, coming up to Rose and using her shoulder as an armrest. "We got him pretty drunk, though, so my work here is done."

Charlotte looked concerned as she peered at Albus closely. "Did you get him any food or water at all?"

"That would ruin it," James said, looking affronted.

"Oh no." Charlotte untangled herself from him and straightened her dress. "Can you watch him so I can talk to a waiter?"

" _No_ ," Albus whined, attempting to cling to Charlotte, "I'm _fine_ , I just need – I just need –"

"Need what?" Rose asked, putting a supporting arm around him so she could escape.

"I need to dance," he decided loudly. "I need to dance with my wife!"

"She's not your wife yet," Roxy said, sliding an arm onto the other side of Albus to help. "You'll have plenty of time to dance with her soon."

"Good." He slumped against them, still grinning, and Rose felt a jealous pang. She wished she knew what love was supposed to feel like and how Albus felt right then. He looked overwhelmingly happy. She wanted to be happy.

"How many shots have you had?" Rose asked him.

"Like, seven?" Albus held up four fingers. "I dunno, James is the worst."

"I'm right here!" James protested, annoyed. "Fuck this…"

And he disappeared into the crowd.

"I think I see Noah," Roxy said, perking up and standing on her toes to wave at him. "Yes, there he is!"

"Go dance with him," Rose encouraged. "Charlotte will be back in any second."

"Are you sure?"

"Everyone else has ditched, anyway," Rose pointed out, which was true; she hadn't noticed beforehand, but Ella had found Felix and were situated at the bar, ordering another drink. Skye and Everett were either dancing or arguing – it wasn't clear – and Noah was squeezing through dancers, definitely about to whisk Roxanne away.

"Go on!" Rose said, and Roxanne blew a kiss before slipping away.

Rose managed to drag Albus to their table, where Charlotte had gotten a hold of a large pitcher of water and glass.

"Have you got him?" Charlotte asked as Rose sat him down. "I managed to get some chips, but I have to grab them from the bar. Can you watch him just a bit longer?"

"I'm _fine._ "

"Yeah, of course," Rose said, waving her away and ignoring Albus' grumpy mumbling. Charlotte smiled at her gratefully and disappeared again. Rose sat and forced him to drink an entire glass of water.

"Having a nice night?" she asked when Albus appeared to have calmed down a little bit.

"Yeah." His voice echoed in the glass and he slammed it onto the table, words coming out slurred. "James had this whole plan of going to a strip club, but I just don't want to go. Half the people we put in Azkaban went to strip clubs every night."

Rose grinned; this is why she loved Albus more than James. She was so glad they were speaking again. "Makes sense to me."

"Is Charlotte having fun?"

"Let's just say she will have enough pictures for her scrapbook and will be extremely hungover tomorrow."

"Thanks, Rose," he said, grinning again.

"Hey," she began, putting a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry we fought. I should've been more understanding of what you're going through with the wedding and all."

He waved her apology away. "It's fine. It's almost over."

Rose paused. "Also, the girls think you're right. That I wasn't in love with Travis."

"HA!" he said triumphantly and a little too loudly.

"Everyone says I don't know what love is."

"I dunno about all that shit," Albus said, watching as she poured him another glass of water, "but I can see Nathan coming over here."

Rose glanced around quickly; Nathan seemed to be struggling to get through the crowd, but he'd seen her. "Shit."

"He's nice," Albus told her, "but you're in love with Malfoy. I'm shipping you two."

She groaned, regretting that time years ago when she told him about shipping couples. "You're kidding me, right? I'm _not_ –"

"There you are!" Nathan had made it over to their table, a little out of breath. "Albus, how are you doing?"

He smiled widely, clearly very drunk. "Great."

"Charlotte's getting food," Rose explained, gesturing over; they could see her carrying a plate over in their direction, weaving through the crowd. "He'll be all right in no time."

"I think James went a little overboard," Nathan said sheepishly.

"Clearly."

"Do you want to dance?"

"Go on," Albus urged, "You'll see what I'm talking about." Rose shot him a confused look; he was either trying to be cryptic or get her away so he could spend time alone with Charlotte.

Rose got up, following Nathan to the dance floor. When she looked back, Albus and Charlotte were snogging over a plate of chicken wings, and she rolled her eyes. Some things never change.

"They look happy," Nathan said loudly over the music, noticing where Rose was looking. He took her hand and grinned at her, causing that whole butterfly thing to happen again.

_Great._

Rose needed to keep her distance, or she was going to fall for him pretty fast.

"How's your night going?" he asked, pulling her closer and putting his hands on her waist.

"It's good," she said, resting her palms on his shoulders, feeling quite jittery already. It was only a dance, but even as she kept reminding herself of this, it didn't seem to help.

"We don't have to dance." He was smiling warmly, clearly sensing her nerves.

"Let's dance," she said firmly; she didn't want him to think she was boring or strange.

"Or would you rather a drink?"

"No, no, I'm good right here," she said, trying to smile back.

"Probably a good call, I'm already so drunk," he admitted, though she couldn't tell. "We went pub-hopping. Magical drinks are something else, I must say. Also, the wizard hats are incredible."

Rose laughed.

"So," he began, "how have we not gone on a proper date yet?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'd love to take you somewhere one of these days," he clarified, leaning in so she could hear him better. "Somewhere lovely and romantic."

She stared at him in disbelief. When was the last time a man ever actually _wanted_ to do something romantic with her? How the hell was he so perfect?

"Are you even real?" she asked, feeling extremely stupid as she said it.

"What?" he asked, laughing.

"Nothing, nothing," she said quickly, looking down to her heels.

"You're very shy, aren't you?" Nathan asked gently. Rose nearly snorted; she'd never been called shy in her life.

Then it occurred to her that _this_ is what her friends were talking about. It wasn't the first time Nathan had made an incorrect assumption of her, and she hadn't even bothered correcting him. She hadn't been herself around him very much, had she? He didn't know her at all.

Why hadn't she noticed it before?

Even realizing this, Rose couldn't bring herself to say anything; it was like the words had lodged themselves in her throat, stubborn and unresponsive. Evidently, Nathan hadn't noticed any of those emotions on her face.

"You're beautiful, you know," he said admiringly. "Your hair is so bright and lively. Like you."

She blushed. "Thanks. It runs in the family."

He laughed and started to talk about different restaurants and places around London, but Rose could barely follow along. All she could understand was her entire body reverberating the word ' _date_ ' back to her. Then: ' _boyfriend_ ', and somehow, ' _terrible girlfriend'._

"Rose!" She felt relieved as she twisted around, seeing Charlotte calling and hurrying towards her, wrestling through the dancers. Her cheeks were red and she was dragging Albus by the wrist onto the dance floor. "I got five points."

"Five points?"

"For the game!" she exclaimed, giggling. "I used a cheesy pickup line on the bartender."

Rose looked to Albus, who shook his head, trying not to laugh. "It was literally a pickup line about cheese."

"It still counts!" Charlotte headed towards Skye, who was still dancing/arguing with Everett nearby. "I'm going to tell the others, okay?"

"What was she talking about?" Nathan asked once she left.

"We were playing a game," she told him before launching into an explanation of the different actions that added up points. By the time she finished, he was smirking.

"So," he said slowly, and suddenly she realized it wasn't his hands at her waist, but his forearms, pulling her closer. "How many points is a kiss?"

Rose was already quite warm, but she felt the heat rush to her cheeks. "Ten."

"I'd be up for that." He grinned, and even his smile was sexy. "To help you win, of course."

"Right," she choked out.

"I'm very competitive," he added.

Rose let out a chuckle that sounded halfway to a squeak. Merlin, he was close, wasn't he?

But despite the intense look in his eyes, the tingle down her spine or the lurch in her belly, there was one thing for sure: Rose did _not_ want to kiss Nathan.

On paper they made sense: they both loved reading, they were attracted to each other, they were both kind, they enjoyed each other's company and they even kind of _looked_ good together. But she didn't want to kiss him, not even a little. How the fuck did that make any sense?

Maybe it was because it was _this_ could be the nail in the coffin, the thing that drew her in to fall for him. And what would happen then? Another up-and-down relationship when she clearly didn't need that in her life?

Maybe she was broken. This was why she needed to be single, and _stay_ single.

Rose broke Nathan's gaze and the moment very pointedly, turning so she looked over his shoulder. Cowardly, but it worked. She found herself looking at Skye, who was dancing with Everett in a similar way. She had a deep scowl practically engraved on her features, but when Rose caught her eye, her expression cleared to pleading. She mouthed, _Help!_

Rose mouthed, _Help!_ right back.

If she wasn't so desperate, she would be extremely amused at how pathetic they were.

"I think," Rose decided, "that we need to switch dancing partners."

"Er, what?" he asked.

"Skye!" Rose yanked herself away from Nathan and dragged him towards Skye and Everett. "Skye, I think it's time we switch partners, right?"

"What are we, in dance class?" Everett complained as Skye and Rose switched places.

"It's part of the bachelorette party," Skye agreed, mouthing _Thank you_ to Rose when the boys exchanged wary glances. "We all have to dance with each other at some point during the night."

Rose hauled a reluctant Everett around a few dancers until he couldn't see Skye anymore. He looked extremely put off, running a hand through his dark hair miserably. He was so tall, Rose had to almost bend backwards to look at him properly.

"Are you all right?" she asked. She didn't know him very well, but she'd seen him enough at all their friend gatherings.

"Not really," he said shortly.

"Look, I think you need to accept the break up," Rose said bluntly, knowing it was harsh, but he'd clearly made Skye uncomfortable. "She's not going to change her mind."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because once she knows what she wants, she knows. And you know her well enough to get that."

Everett clenched his jaw. "Let's get another drink."

That didn't seem like a good idea – he was quite red-faced already – but before she could voice her concern, he was tugging her through the crowd back towards the bar. He found a barstool beside Felix, who was, of course, with Ella. She lit up when they sat beside her.

"Two Firewhiskeys," Everett told the bartender, glancing carelessly at Rose.

"Everett, you got her a drink?" Ella asked excitedly. "That's five points. Roxy's got ten points, though, look at her!"

They all looked down the bar, on which Roxy had kicked off her heels and was freely dancing on top of. Noah was sitting nearby, drinking a beer and chatting with another man at the bar.

Rose snorted. "Cheers. I've officially lost the game."

"There's still time to rack up more points." She lowered her voice so only Rose could hear. "I'm going to propose to Felix for fifteen points."

"You're insane," Rose said, laughing. "You're not really doing that, are you?"

Ella looked around, squinting. "Where did Skye go? Did she do anything yet?"

"She's dancing with Nathan, thanks to Rose," Everett said as the bartender put two shot glasses down on the bar. He passed one to Rose before motioning for another round.

Ella frowned at Rose.

"I needed to get away from him," Rose said, downing her shot and ignoring the burn.

"Why's that?"

Rose looked back to Nathan, attempting to find the words to explain, just in time to see Skye grab his collar and kiss him.

Rose winced. _Ten points._

"I think she's _really_ drunk," Ella said, wide-eyed. "Did you see her taking those shots earlier?"

"No…" They watched as Nathan pushed her away, but Rose could tell; his face was flushed in surprise and wonder. He couldn't keep his eyes off her, well after she let go of him and ran away, disappearing into the crowd.

Everett handed Rose another shot and clinked their glasses together. He was obviously upset, but all she could feel was… relief?

"I'm heading home," Everett said angrily, swallowing his shot. "Can you tell Al I'm not going to make the wedding?"

"Everett…" Rose didn't know what to say, but he didn't seem to care. He flipped a few Galleons onto the bar and stalked off.

"That was awkward," Ella voiced, making Rose laugh.

"I don't think she meant it," Felix put in, putting an arm around Ella's shoulders. "Shall we go find her, El?"

"Just a minute." Ella seemed to be scrutinizing Rose's face as she threw back the second shot. "Rose, are you –"

"I'm fine," she assured quickly, even after Ella shot her a disbelieving look. "He's just my date to the wedding. I don't care."

"If you're sure…" Still, Ella seemed uncertain.

But it _was_ true. It was so honest it was frustrating.

Why wasn't she jealous?

Despite Rose's assurances, Ella decided to sit her down at the bar beside Noah (and Roxy, technically, but she was still dancing on the bar). As usual, Ella was playing the mother of the group and practically dove into the crowd to look for Skye, Felix following behind dutifully.

"I'm _fine_ ," Rose told Noah, who seemed half-concerned for Rose, half-annoyed she'd interrupted his Quidditch debate with another bloke at the bar. "Go back to your conversation."

"Okay," he said, attempting to turn away.

"I'm just confused as hell," Rose lamented, trying to catch the attention of the bartender, but he was still at the other end of the bar. "Why am I not jealous? Shouldn't I be jealous?"

Noah at least had the sense to look apologetic. "Honestly, Rose, I don't really know what you're talking about. Maybe you should think about it later, when you're not sloshed?"

Rose stared at him in awe. Avoid _thinking_ – what a great idea!

Those last couple of shots were hitting her now, so that helped a little bit.

"I know what I'm going to do," she said, slamming a hand down on the bar. "I'm going to win the game. I just have to do something big, right?"

"Are you going to dance on the bar, too?" Nathan asked, laughing.

Rose ignored him. He didn't get it, but Roxy would understand, wouldn't she?

"Roxy!" she called loudly. But Roxanne clearly couldn't hear Rose at all, so she clambered up on the bar, kicking off her shoes and standing gingerly. She braced her hands onto Roxanne's shoulders. "Roxy, I'm getting a tattoo!"

" _What_?"

"I'm getting a tattoo! For the game!"

She leaned down and carefully hopped off the bar, looking for her shoes. Roxanne joined her on the ground a moment later. "Rose, that's not part of the game!"

"I'm making my own rules!" she said excitedly, slipping back into her heels and headed for the door.

"Well, you can't go alone!" Roxy grabbed her own shoes and followed her. "Where are you even going?"

"The closest tattoo parlour!" Rose wasn't sure where that was, not that it mattered.

"Pretty sure it's closed," Roxy said as they exited the building, emerging into the narrow road between Diagon and Knockturn alley. Rose checked her watch, and lo and behold, it was past midnight.

"This is some bullshit," Rose grumbled.

Roxy laughed. "What happened?"

"I think Skye won the game," she said, shrugging. "She got ten points. She snogged Nathan."

"Oh," Roxanne responded, still confused, "but I'm at ten points, too."

"I don't even _care_." Rose was much too loud, and even if the thumping music was still audible from outside, her voice echoed off the walls. "I'm not jealous. I just want to know why I'm not jealous."

"Maybe you don't like him," Roxy suggested. "Maybe he's not right for you."

"But I'm attracted to him. Like, a _lot._ " Rose was waving her hands around wildly. "There's all these butterflies and shit."

"So?"

Rose wasn't sure if she didn't have a good answer or was just too drunk to reply.

"This is what we were trying to tell you earlier," Roxy said, holding Rose by the arm, either for comfort or to keep her in place. Rose did feel rather tippy. "You do this. You think butterflies means you have actual feelings."

"It does!"

"It can become that," Roxy said, tightening her grip, "but for some reason, you don't really let these guys in long enough to fall for them."

Rose couldn't think. Her mind was spinning.

"I can't talk in front of Nathan," she said slowly. "I can't be myself around him."

"Yeah," Roxy said, like it was obvious. "Why not?"

"Because he's perfect." Rose looked away. "It's too much pressure. I'll only disappoint him."

"You – _what_?"

But she wasn't listening, remembering how attracted to Scorpius she'd been when she met him. She remembered that vividly. Sometimes that even came back in the morning right before he woke up, or the way he looked at her right before he kissed her. Her heart raced at the thought.

But somehow that nervousness had mostly faded away. Maybe because they were just friends, and that was fine, that was safe. Maybe because she didn't have to worry so much, because he was never disappointed in her. Ever.

Fuck, she wasn't going to think about that right now. She couldn't.

"I'm going home," Rose announced, ripping her arm out from Roxanne's hold.

"Rose! Wait, we were going to sleep over at Charlotte's, remember?"

But Rose was running, running, running. Like she always was.

* * *

Rose nearly tripped at least three times. Being drunk, confused and running in heels was not an experience Rose would recommend. Really, spare yourself the trouble if you can.

She slowed a minute later, arms wrapped around her shoulders, actually a little chilly. She couldn't believe she just ditched Charlotte's bachelorette party and all her friends. She didn't even really know why she did that. Maybe it was just in the way the entire night had left her feeling very exposed.

So Rose didn't know what love was. So what? She knew what it _wasn't_ , now.

And say Roxanne was right: even if Rose was attracted to Nathan, that didn't mean she would fall for him. That's what she was worried about this entire time, right? That's what made her so fucking nervous: that she would fall in love again, when that was the last thing she wanted.

It was like pulling teeth, hammering it through her drunken mind: just because she had butterflies around Nathan, that didn't mean she was going to fall for him. The thought actually made her more relieved than she could admit.

As she headed towards The Leaky Cauldron so she could get back into Muggle London, she considered why any of this even mattered. There was a reason she was single. She didn't feel nearly ready to go through that sort of experience again, and she had a lot of work she wanted to do on herself before she wanted anything to do with relationships.

Rose was still a mess, and she knew it.

The dingy pub was warm and quite crowded when she entered; there was some sort of Quidditch game playing over the speakers, but she couldn't make it out. As she made her way towards the entrance, she spotted a head of messy blond hair in the corner, sitting with his friends and definitely looking at her.

Oh, _fuck._ Scorpius was literally the last person she wanted to see.

Rose ducked out of The Leaky Cauldron quickly, noticing him following her out of her peripheral; if she had to see him, she at least didn't want to see his friends. Scorpius appeared a moment later, looking left and right before he found her leaning against the wall, arms crossed and catching her breath.

"I thought that was you," he said, approaching her, hands in his pockets.

She looked across the street at someone lighting a cigarette. "Here I am. Congratulations."

"You're drunk, aren't you?" he asked, amused.

"What are you doing here?" she deflected. "Don't you have… I dunno, work or studying or being responsible or whatever?"

"No, I took a day off. Trying to do that more." He glanced back at the door. "The Magpies are playing in America. There's a big time difference."

Rose didn't reply; she was starting to notice how much her heels were pinching her toes.

"Are you all right?" he asked. "I thought you said you were at your cousin's party or something."

"No, this is how much glitter I normally wear."

He grinned. "Well, actually…"

"Shut up," she moaned. "First, I lost every single game, then the tattoo parlour was closed –"

"You are way too pissed to be getting a tattoo right now."

"– and then I ditched my friends for no reason." Rose closed her eyes and tightened her arms around herself. "They're going to kill me. Tonight was so stupid."

"Rose," he said patiently, "I think you're probably over exaggerating. Tonight couldn't have been that bad."

"Okay, it was actually really fun," she admitted, "but then the boys crashed, and everyone just sort of stuck with their significant others the entire time and I was sort of…" _Stuck with Nathan_. "… alone."

"Okay, so it wasn't so bad."

"Sort of." Her mouth was blabbering, and she couldn't stop it. "I had a date. A wedding date."

"A… wedding date?"

"Yeah." She shifted from one foot to the other, wincing from the pain. "Charlotte begged me to take her cousin to the wedding, and I stupidly agreed even though I didn't want to go with anyone."

"Oh." Scorpius looked uncomfortable. "So you ditched him."

"I ditched everyone."

"Why aren't you going back, then?" he asked. "You clearly feel guilty."

Rose shrugged, more nonchalant than she felt. "I mean, they're all moving on without me, anyway. Getting married and all. One of my friends probably got engaged tonight, unless she was joking."

"At a bachelorette party?" he said, eyebrows jumping to his hairline.

"I think they're all just growing up too damn _fast_ , you know?" Rose said loudly, nearly toppling over with the force of her statement. "Why do we all have to live happily ever after already?" _Why did she have to be the only one confused about love?_

Scorpius chuckled. "I can tell you firsthand that it's not true."

"We're not that old yet," she continued, leaning back against the wall so she wouldn't feel so dizzy. "I want to get a tattoo and hitchhike my way through France. I want to have _fun_ and go back to when we used to build forts and climb trees and camp out in the backyard."

"All the things that seem like a particularly bad idea right now," he teased.

"Shut up." Rose was trying not to pout, but it didn't seem like she was doing so well in that regard. "Don't you ever want to do that stuff?"

"Yes," he said, "but not when I'm drunk. I'd keep away from the trees if I were you."

Rose looked at Scorpius properly for the first time. Even though it was dark, she could see his skin was flushed – probably from a few drinks he'd had inside, or probably because she was acting like a complete nutter – and he was smiling in a particular way she knew a little too well.

"Just say it," she grumbled.

"I'm trying not to."

"Scorpius, I will attack you with my shoe. It's very pointy."

"You're absolutely ridiculous," he burst out, laughing. He made a movement like he was about to reach for her, but then the door to The Leaky Cauldron opened and a wizard stumbled out. His hand was back in his pocket in the next moment.

"Are you going home?" Scorpius asked.

"No." Rose suddenly grinned. "I'm going to be ridiculous. Let's go camping."

" _Now_?"

"Why not?"

He seemed to consider her for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay."

"Okay? We're actually going?"

Scorpius jerked his head towards the street and grinned back at her. "Let's go."

* * *

A/N: Thank you soo much for your patience with this chapter! It was actually so long I ended up cutting out a bunch of stuff. I hope you enjoyed the absolute chaos of the bachelor/bachelorette party. What did you guys think of Rose's naive understanding of love, and how it involved Nathan? Anyone have any ideas what might happen while camping?

Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think :)


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

"I can't believe I have to break into my own apartment."

"You're making this so much more dramatic than this needs to be."

Rose stared at her door, the gold '35' clear but her vision pretty hazy around the edges. Scorpius looked extremely impatient, which was pretty much his normal state of being, but this time she could see a small vein protruding the side of his jaw.

"I'm not being dramatic!" she said at a perfectly reasonable volume. He shushed her. "I left my keys in the club." She knew her friends would pick up her purse, but she wasn't going to go back just then.

"I know, you've told me three times already. Will you _please_ just let me unlock it by magic?"

"But we're in a _Muggle_ building."

"Just shout it louder, why don't you," Scorpius whispered, exasperated. "You're impossible. Couldn't you have taken it easy on that last drink?"

"You're drunk, too!"

"Barely," he retorted, but even in her state she could tell he was tipsy. "Just shut up for like two seconds –"

"I will _not,_ " Rose said, affronted by the thought. "Women have been silenced for too long –"

"Forget it," he ground out, grabbing her wrist. He dragged her over to his flat, disregarding her rambling and the fact that she nearly tripped on her stupid heels. As he began packing clothes into a bag, Rose kicked off her shoes.

"What about my clothes?" she asked, and Scorpius wordlessly tossed an extra t-shirt and shorts towards her. This was enough for Rose to start spluttering; even she knew that was crossing some friends-with-benefits line. "I can't wear your clothes – maybe I could –"

"Really, Rose?" he asked, chuckling. "You won't let me open your door, remember?"

"They won't even fit," she waffled, trying not to blush more than she already was.

Scorpius ignored her entirely, heading to his bathroom.

"We also need my sleeping bags, right?" Rose asked, following him. "Aren't we going to camp out on the roof?"

"On the roof?"

"So we can see the stars," she explained. "Why else would you go camping?"

"You can't see the stars on the roof," he replied, grabbing his toothbrush and another one still in the wrapper, "it's the middle of the city. We're not even allowed up there."

"That's some bullshit."

"We're going to the cottage, obviously," he said. Rose frowned. "Listen, we'll figure something out, all right?"

As it turned out, Scorpius' version of sleeping bags were some fluffy pillows and blankets laid out on the grass. Even after they'd arrived at the Malfoy Cottage and set up their makeshift beds behind the house, Rose was still sceptical about the entire situation. That was, until Scorpius made hot cocoa for both of them.

"It's actually quite nice out right now," Rose said once she was sitting on her pile of blankets and cradling her mug in her hands. "It's been so hot."

"To think that September is just around the corner," Scorpius said. He'd kicked his long legs out and even though it was quite dark, she could see him in the moonlight.

"You've finally relaxed," she commented, giggling.

"You're a little too relaxed, if I'm being honest," he said, observing her. "Is this more comfortable to sleep in than your glittery thing?"

"It was a good dress for the occasion," Rose grumbled, but he was probably right. Scorpius' clothes were a tad too large, but truthfully, she really could feel herself relaxing after the ruckus of that night.

The crickets creaked around them as they sipped hot chocolate, watched the moon's reflection glistening on the lake and the stars peeking above them while enjoying the warm breeze brushing over them. This was why she liked spending time with Scorpius: they both seemed to appreciate these sorts of quiet moments. She wished Albus hadn't gone and complicated all of that.

As she sat there, she noted that one thing was for certain: there was a noticeable absence of any sort of butterflies.

Which isn't to say she didn't want to be around Scorpius. She was content, sure. The drinks were wearing off, which was a relief. But as she sat there with him, she didn't feel nervous or overly on edge – so unlike how she felt around Nathan. But she was starting to understand that it wasn't love. Love was so out of control for her.

But didn't that also mean that it was just friendship with Scorpius?

"So, did the Magpies win?" Rose asked, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders to distract herself.

"No," Scorpius admitted, chuckling. "It was a good game, though. 300 to 200."

"You're a loyal fan." She gestured to the Magpies logo on the t-shirt she'd borrowed from him.

"It was a fun night." He put his mug down and leaned back on his hands. "You know, I kind of understand what you were talking about before, back at the pub. We are still young, aren't we?"

"That's what I'm saying!" she said, brightening. "Why is everyone in a rush to grow up?"

"I dunno." He was quiet, looking out at the lake. "I regret I rushed things."

"It's not like you could've known back then."

"I've been thinking about how I might want my life to look like," he said slowly. "I've been avoiding that for a few years. Or maybe I just became complacent and thought I'd ride this out until I die."

She drained her cup before placing it carefully onto the grass and lying into her blankets. He was much chattier after a drink or three, and she was enjoying it immensely. "Just do what I did, and reinvent yourself."

Scorpius laughed.

"I'm just joking," she assured. "It just seems like you're already doing what you're supposed to do, right? You're doing that class and you'll probably get in somewhere for a program. You won't know unless you try."

"I don't know what I'm doing, actually," he corrected. "You know it's because of you that I thought to apply at all, right?"

"Really?" She knew she triggered some sort of quarter-life crisis in him, but she wouldn't exactly take credit for that. Scorpius was the one who did the work, made his decision and fought with his father.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Anyway, you're right. I won't know until I try."

"That's what I'm hoping for this new job. It starts next week." She turned onto her side, chewing her lip. "I'm not sure I'm actually going to be good at this job."

"You still have the weekend to prepare yourself."

"Right," she said, stomach sinking. " _Fuck_ , after tomorrow – today, I mean – it's going to be non-stop wedding shit for two days."

"You sound excited," he noted sarcastically.

Rose sighed and sunk back into her pillow. "I promised to help, plus there are some people…" She thought of Nathan, dreading having to tell him how she didn't want to actually date him and he was just the wedding date. But perhaps Skye had taken care of that – what was going with her, anyway?

"Some people?" Scorpius urged, interrupting her thoughts.

She cleared her throat. "Just some people I have to avoid."

"I'm sure it will be fine."

"You don't know my family."

"Maybe I'm just a pessimist," he said, "but weddings themselves are sort of overrated and a headache. Sometimes I wonder if they have anything to do with marriage at all."

Rose paused. "Do you — do you think you'd ever get married again?"

"I… I dunno. My family wouldn't like it." He was suddenly avoiding her eyes.

"Do _you_ want to?"

Scorpius didn't answer.

"My ex proposed to me a year ago, before we broke up," Rose admitted quietly. "I think he just did it because he knew I wanted him to. Albus said I wasn't in love with him."

"Were you?"

"I guess not." She tried to think back, but her brain felt hazy. The drink certainly made her a little bolder but she couldn't think straight. "I _thought_ I was in love with him."

"Did you get engaged?" he asked, lying down on his blankets.

"No." She looked away. "I wanted to, but… we were fighting all the time. But it's always like that in relationships, isn't it?"

"Fighting?" he asked, sounding surprised. "No, I don't think so."

She glanced at him, frowning. "I mean, it was fine sometimes, things were good. I would try to make him happy, but then he'd be shitty to me, you know? And I'd be fucking blind to it because of love or whatever and it'll just hit me one day that something's not right. Then we'll fight and make up and everything is good again. Until it isn't."

"That… doesn't sound right at all," Scorpius said gently. "I think you'll fight sometimes. But in my experience, if you're fighting more than you're happy, you're probably just in the wrong relationship."

"I dunno." She sighed. "I'm sort of convinced all relationships are like that."

"What makes you so sure? Do you think your cousin's relationship is like that?" he asked. "He's getting married. You should probably warn him."

"No," she admitted, screwing her eyes shut. "I didn't know you were such an advocate for relationships."

Scorpius snorted. "I didn't realize I was until just this second."

"How'd you get over it, then? How'd you just get over everything that happened?"

"My relationship wasn't like that," he clarified. "We just couldn't agree on a lot of fundamental things, and after a while, we were just really unhappy without them. I didn't get over it so much as I learned not to do that again."

"Right."

"You spend a _lot_ of time trying to make everyone else happy."

"You've told me that before," she acknowledged.

"Glad I said something that made sense to you."

Rose smacked him lightly on the arm, making him laugh.

"I just don't want to disappoint everyone," she said, remembering what she'd told Roxanne earlier. "I feel like I spend so much time doing things for them never to amount to anything, because nothing is ever good enough." It went unsaid that she was mostly speaking about her mother.

He turned on his side so he was looking at her properly. "Sounds like you've dealt with a lot of expectations."

"Doesn't everyone?"

"No," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Unlike you, I'm not the descendant of war heroes. Literally no one has expected I would amount to anything, would you prefer that?"

"I am going to _maim_ someone at _The Prophet_ one of these days," Rose seethed. "Where do they even get off, writing this about someone who's never done anything to anyone?"

Scorpius grinned. "Luckily for you and your future jail time, I couldn't care less what those shits say about me. I know who I am."

Rose didn't reply, looking at him thoughtfully.

"We should sleep," he said quietly.

"I don't want to sleep." Even if her body felt exhausted; her mind was whirring, somewhat haphazardly. "Scorpius, I know who you are, too."

"I figured, since you're here," he joked.

"You're amazing." The words left her mouth before she realized she'd thought them, and something in his expression made her say it again, so he would believe her. Because it was the truth, and she wanted her friend to feel happy. "I think you're amazing, okay?"

There was a rustle of blankets and grass, and then he was leaning over to press his lips against hers. She felt her chest soften as he moved his fingers to her cheek, kissing her again and again until she was fisting his shirt in her hands and pulling him on top of her.

There was something wonderful about the way his body weighed on top of hers, warm and familiar, heavy but comforting. Rose found her hands running through his hair, wanting him closer, especially when he nibbled on her bottom lip. She hummed into his lips, causing him to grind his hips into hers.

In one moment, it was slow and gentle, their breaths intermingling with the crickets chirping and the water lapping in the background, and the next moment, it wasn't. Scorpius surprised her by pushing her wrists on either side of her head, mouth a little more desperate.

Rose attempted to wrap her legs around his hips, but her foot was caught in between his blanket and her knee. Understanding this, Scorpius moved his knees upward to her hips, but the blankets had wrapped around his leg.

"Okay," he said, wiggling around, "I think I'm stuck."

"We're getting tangled," Rose realized. The blankets were twisted around them, and her head was spinning way too much to untangle them. "We need to…"

"Yeah, we should stop," he said, chuckling. "I'm not a fan of drunk sex anyway."

Rose tried not to feel too dissatisfied as he shuffled out of her blankets and went back onto his own makeshift bed. "I've always wanted to do this, though. Under the stars."

"Yeah, me too." He covered himself fully, shifting around and making himself comfortable. "But maybe another time."

"Okay."

"What's the rush, right?" he asked, making her smile. Even after he fell asleep, she couldn't stop smiling.

Even Rose could admit that this was so far beyond being fuck buddies. She tried, but she couldn't deny the way she trusted him or admired him. He just understood her.

She couldn't describe what they were. All she could think was that she was Rose and he was Scorpius, and that was the best way to describe them. More than flowers and dates and holding hands, more than sex, more than friends. They just _were_.

And that was okay. She was in control.

* * *

The sickness was rolling in Rose's stomach an hour later, and she barely made it to the bathroom before she hurled.

Scorpius did some sleepy confused mumbling when she ruffled through his bag for that extra toothbrush – "That's _my_ bag, get your own!" – but after brushing her teeth twice and downing a large glass of water, Rose actually felt a little better.

When she woke again, it was quite warm and bright outside but the shade from the cottage was cast over her. Birds were chirping loudly in the trees, and normally that would be pleasant, but she had a pounding headache. The blankets and pillows that Scorpius was using had vanished, and she could hear the clanging of pots and pans coming from inside. She dragged her blankets inside and found him in the kitchen; cooking, of course.

"This isn't camping," Rose said once she'd approached him. "You know that, right? This is _glamping._ "

Scorpius continued whisking eggs in a bowl, not bothering to glance up. "Good morning to you, too."

"You're making breakfast," Rose observed, sinking down onto the barstool, watching him, "and I have the worst headache I've ever had in my life."

"It's actually brunch," he said, gesturing to the clock on the wall; it was well past noon.

"I'm such an idiot when I'm drunk," she moaned. "I'm never drinking again. Why the fuck did I want to go camping in the middle of the night?"

"You did say it was a good night, though," he pointed out, starting the burner on the stove and placing a pan over it. "Besides, I'm sure all your friends are just as hungover as you are."

Rose thought of Albus and tried not to laugh.

"They're going to kill me for ditching," she said guiltily. She'd have to make her way back to Albus and Charlotte's flat eventually; she'd left all her things there, including her wand.

"What if they didn't notice?" Scorpius teased, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, resting her head down on her arms and watching him scramble the eggs. She didn't particularly want to eat, but she'd never turn down food. "Are you hungover?"

"Nah, I'm fine. Just a little headache."

She could sympathize; her head was still throbbing. "Your House Elf could make breakfast, right?"

"I don't like to bother her. She takes care of my parents."

"My mum's against House Elf enslavement," Rose told him, making his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "She thinks they should be paid."

He considered this, though she could tell from his expression that he thought this was strange. "Well, I guess it's a good thing you learned how to cook."

"I should make something for you one of these days," she said, and he shrugged. "No, really. You've taught me a lot."

"My grandparents were so angry when I learned how to cook," he said, chuckling. "They're still not speaking to me for living in a Muggle building."

Rose wondered how his grandparents would react to them being friends. "That's terrible."

"They'll get over it someday."

"Our families are very different," she commented, staring at the patterns on the granite counter and trying not to feel dizzy. Scorpius shuffled the eggs onto a couple of plates and tossed a few pieces of toast onto them. He sat beside and shifted one of the plates towards her.

"Is your dad still angry with you?"

"Yeah." He dug his fork into his eggs, a tad forcefully. "He'll get over it, too."

"Maybe he wants you to work in the Apothecary forever," she joked, making the corners of his mouth turn upwards. "You know, I'm thinking that we should hang around Diagon Alley together. Albus could come too. Maybe you'll get some good press."

Scorpius stopped chewing. "What?"

"I think it would work," she said nonchalantly, biting into her toast. "Maybe they'll even lay off your family for a while. That would be brilliant."

"You would want that?" He was openly staring at her now.

"Of course." The more she thought of it, the more she liked the idea. The Malfoys ran the Apothecary for crying out loud; it supplied St. Mungo's. People should trust them more.

Scorpius turned back to his plate, swallowing.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What made you decide to get this?" Rose asked. His eyes followed as she gently touched his sleeve and drew it upwards to reveal his tattoo. "Can I ask about that?"

"Yeah." He adjusted his glasses nervously. "There's always been a lot of truth behind what _The Prophet_ says about my family history. Not me," he corrected quickly upon seeing the look on Rose's face, "but sometimes it's hard to not be ashamed of what they did."

Rose's head was suddenly aching a little more.

"But I can't change anything." He played with his eggs, shifting them around his plate. "There's nothing I can do about that. But I don't have to hold myself to other people's standards. I can change what being a Malfoy means. Maybe if I have kids, they don't have to go through this."

Rose nodded. She could barely remember what he was like in school, and from what he'd told her, she guessed he spent a lot of time shying away from the spotlight. To add to that, he'd gotten married and divorced so early. Rose was starting to comprehend just how quickly he'd had to grow up.

He glanced at his shoulder, where her fingers were still playing at the dark ink in his skin. "It's just a reminder, I guess."

"I get it." Rose trailed her fingers down until she was intertwining them with his. "Honestly. I know what it's like to not be accepted for who you are. Or when other people assume things about you."

"I know you understand."

"You do?"

"Yes," he confirmed a little more strongly. "You've never asked, you know? Not even once. You've never asked whether the rumours were true. You just… I dunno." He looked away.

If she was honest, she'd never even thought to ask. After years of hearing this and that about her family in the papers and gossip magazines, she could never assume anything she read was real – not that she'd read much about the Malfoy family, really. Scorpius was closed off and sometimes grumpy towards her, but he'd never been _evil._

"You accept me as I am," Rose said after a moment. "I'm a complete mess, a little intrusive and I talk too much. Why wouldn't I do the same for you?"

He shook his head and looked back at his plate, smiling.

"At least you get to inherit this place," Rose said light-heartedly, looking around the beautiful, luxurious cottage. "Once, my dad tried to give me an old lighter as inheritance. What the hell do I need that for?"

He laughed. "You're welcome here anytime, Rose."

"Okay, I feel spoiled, now," Rose decided, pushing her nearly-empty plate away. "We need to do something that we would _actually_ do while camping."

"I've never really gone camping," he admitted, glancing out the window, "but yeah, you're right. Let's go outside."

* * *

The afternoon heat was setting in as they took a walk outside. Men's clothes were thicker than women's, and Rose could feel the sweat dripping down her back as they walked around. The previously chirping birds had retreated into the shade, probably napping. Rose sort of wished she could nap.

But it was also lovely. There was a path around the lake, and they walked along until they found a dock leading out into the water. They sat at the edge, dangling their feet in the water – Rose hadn't worn her heels since the night before, anyway – watching as tiny fish swam away.

"I'm so jealous of this place, you have no idea," Rose told him, attempting to poke a curious fish with her toe. "How do you not just take your entire summers off and go on holiday here?"

Scorpius shrugged. "As you know, I'm not really a vacation person."

"I'm going to _make_ you a vacation person, okay?"

He laughed. "I actually used to spend my entire summers here while we were in school."

"I wish we were friends in school," Rose said wistfully. "We could've gotten so many points for inter-house socialization. And then I would have invaded your cottage every summer."

Scorpius watched as she splashed around with her feet. "I'm going in."

"Wait, what?"

Before she knew it, he was pulling off his shirt and shorts and placed them onto the dock behind him. Rose scrambled backwards as he slipped into the water, splashing everywhere as he swam a couple of metres away.

"Watch it!" she squealed, ducking as she got sprayed.

"Come in," he invited, slicking his hair back. "The water feels amazing."

She shook her head. "Not a chance."

"Why not?" he asked, swimming back up to the dock. She shoved herself back again. "Are you scared or something?"

"No," she said defensively. "I just haven't brought a bathing suit."

"So? Just come in your knickers. Or," he said, grinning, "nothing at all. I wouldn't complain."

"Absolutely not!" she said, blushing and wrapping her arms around herself. "It's way too bright for that."

He leaned his forearms onto the dock, looking confused. "You're kidding, right? I've seen you naked for weeks. And there's no one around here, I promise."

"Not exactly," she said, stepping backwards again. "It's usually dark. Or I don't undress entirely."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Rose. I could see you. And you're fucking sexy."

Still she hesitated, unsure. She looked into the distance, where she could see a couple of seagulls skimming along the lake, but no one else.

"Here," he said impatiently. He tossed his glasses off onto his clothes, water droplets dripping off of them. "Help me find them later. Just come in."

Rose was thankful he swam off then, giving her a tiny bit of privacy as she pulled her clothes off and left them by his glasses. She was left in her underwear as she lowered herself in the water. It was cool but pleasant, even as goose bumps rose on her skin.

Scorpius came back when he saw her in, observing her carefully. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, feeling the sandy ground of the lake between her toes. The water reached up to her collarbones.

"Good." He sneaked his arms around her and pulled her into him, the water resisting the movement. She rested her hands on the smooth skin of his shoulders as he floated them backwards. "Can you swim?"

"Of course."

He grasped her knees around him anyway, keeping her afloat. "I wish I could see you properly."

"What do I look like right now?"

"Most of you is kind of blurry," he admitted, chuckling. "But I can see your face."

Her face _was_ rather close to his, and realizing it made her breath hitch. "That makes sense."

"I can see all your freckles," he said quietly. His thumb brushed a strand of wet hair off her cheek and he traced at the bridge of her nose.

"They get a little darker in the sun," she said, pulling herself closer and looping her hands at the back of his neck. He smiled as she pressed her mouth to his. His lips were wet, in an oddly pleasant way.

She exhaled quietly as she pulled away, keeping her eyes shut. "I wish I could freeze time."

"What do you mean?" he asked softly. The water lapped around them.

"Wish we could just… I dunno. Not return to normal life," she admitted. He kissed her again, slow and deliberate, palms on her jaw.

"No responsibilities?" he joked, breaking off their kiss and pressing his forehead against hers. "No jobs, no wedding, no reinventing yourself?"

"None of that," she agreed. "This is it, you know? This is everything."

"Yeah." He smiled. "I get it."

* * *

Rose was curled up on Scorpius' bed, wearing his t-shirt and hair still wet from her shower, reading a book she'd apparently left in his flat. She may have been procrastinating getting dressed; getting dressed meant going back to face her friends, so the procrastination was justified, okay?

When Scorpius came out of the bathroom, he was only wearing boxers. Wet blond strands flopped onto his forehead as he tossed dirty clothes into a hamper and his glasses were foggy around the rims. "I thought you would've left by now."

"I'm delaying the inevitable, I know." She sighed dramatically and tossed her book aside. "Maybe if I just stay here, no one will be angry with me."

"They probably won't be angry."

"You don't know that." Rose checked the clock. They'd spent the afternoon swimming and lazing about, but it was nearly evening and she desperately wanted to go back to her own flat, change into her own clothes and sleep.

"Thanks for going camping with me," Rose said quietly. "I think it just helped me with everything it went through last night. I know I'm a little impulsive sometimes."

Scorpius sat on the edge of the bed, and she could smell his soap and shampoo wafting over her. "I like that you suggest these things. I'd never think of them myself."

"I'm never boring!" she boasted sarcastically.

He laughed. "I'm probably going to study a little and take a nap, but you're welcome to stay here."

"I should study, too," she said absent-mindedly, watching him pull on a shirt. "I'm actually a little behind on that course."

"You should join me in the mornings," he suggested. "We can study before we both have to get the work."

"And _you_ can shut your mouth," Rose replied. He was grinning and she made a face at him; he knew full well that she would not have the discipline to wake up, go running _and_ study all before nine in the morning.

"It will probably be harder to study after work, though."

"I know. You were right, I shouldn't have taken that job." Rose chewed on her lip, thinking. "I should've just kept doing that course and looking for a job I would like. But also, bills."

"You can always quit if you don't like it," he suggested.

"Albus would be so angry with me." She shoved a hand through her curls. "He's probably going to be pretty annoyed at me when I show up. Charlotte's going to be absolutely pissed."

"You have to get back to reality at some point."

She stared at him, tight-lipped, overly annoyed that he was right. Then, without thinking, she put her arms onto his shoulders and yanked him forwards, kissing him hard.

Reality could wait.

Scorpius responded immediately, enthusiastically – she _knew_ he didn't want to study that badly – and he was climbing over her, kissing her backwards until her head hit the pillow. He tossed his glasses onto his table before descending on her again, knees on either side of her hips, still smiling.

He wasted absolutely no time shifting his mouth to her neck, practically devouring her. His tongue on her skin felt so good that she momentarily forgot what she wanted to do, forgot that she was supposed to breathe. Almost automatically, her fingers slipped under his shirt and around his sides, smooth and warm on her skin.

That was the thing: she never hesitated to explore him.

What Rose couldn't understand was that she was very attracted to Nathan – a little too attracted – but she couldn't imagine being intimate with him without falling apart. She would have to be a little drunk before she could imagine being naked around him. A bit like how it was with Travis, she suddenly realized.

But how did Scorpius make her feel? How was this so easy with him? Was she not attracted to him?

With a groan, he broke off their kiss and shoved his shirt over his head.

Nope, Scorpius was definitely attractive to her. She was _already_ wet, just from anticipation.

Which he could probably see, since he had skimmed his way down to her hips and she hadn't any underwear on. Even if he had done this for her several times by then, her legs still shook as he pressed gentle kisses on her inner thighs. It was instinctive, she realized, the way he'd slow down every time her breath hitched. Her hands clutched in her own shirt as he avoided her clit, throbbing as he teased her.

"Fuck," she groaned, throwing her head back. "If you're not getting on with it –"

"I'm taking my time," he said, breath grazing her skin. "You're always saying I should do that."

"Not _now_ ," she said, not realizing she had brought her knees together until he was pushing them apart again. "You – _fuck_ , Scorpius –"

Rose drew a sharp breath when she felt his mouth on her. She never got used to this feeling, never unable to decide whether she wanted to press closer to him or further away. Subconsciously, her fingers ended up in his hair, winding through the strands.

He pushed a finger into her and her head was spinning all over again, but she definitely wasn't drunk anymore. Her eyes squeezed shut, torn between telling him to keep doing that _right there_ or pushing him off of her so this wouldn't end so quickly. She didn't decide; her orgasm ended up taking her by surprise.

"Stop smirking," she said, staring determinedly at the ceiling, heart thumping her ribcage.

"I'm not." He was. Scorpius leaned up and kissed her jaw, looking very pleased with himself. "Pretty sure the neighbours heard that one."

"Shut up," she muttered. Rose was thankful there was no blanket twisted around her foot this time and hitched her still trembling legs around his middle. "You're not much better."

"I never claimed to be."

Rose let out a laugh and she found herself looking at him, attempting to understand what this was. Sex with Scorpius was definitely different than her previous partners, with an intensity of wanting and needing, but also a comfort she never had to question.

"What's so funny?" Scorpius whispered, but he was laughing, too.

"Nothing." She leaned in to kiss him again. Maybe she didn't need to know what this was, or figure it out right away. Maybe he would wait for her. Things were fine and in control.

But his impatience was obvious as he pressed against her, hard and ready. She hooked her thumbs in his waistband and tugged it down, causing Scorpius to pin her arms into the mattress. Rose tried not to gasp as he slid in between her thighs; she was too sensitive for that.

"Wait." Even though she knew Scorpius liked being in control, she stopped him anyway. "Can I try something?"

"Okay."

She could tell he was surprised when she pulled them vertical again. Sliding her knees on either side of his legs, she slowly sank down on top of him, causing both of them to moan loudly.

"Is this okay?" she asked, breathless.

" _Yes_." He kissed her deeply, fingers digging into her waist under her shirt. "Fuck, please move before you drive me completely mad."

She chuckled. "Maybe I like driving you mad."

"Evidently."

She broke their kiss in favour of figuring out the new position, moving slowly. Scorpius rested his mouth into that dip between her neck and her collarbone, occasionally kissing her there. That alone caused a shudder through her entire body, and at the same time, _somehow_ , there was a heat from her cheeks to her ears to her belly.

He helped her along, meeting her hips with his. He was looking at her closely as they moved and she couldn't break that contact even if she wanted to, his eyes dark and expression careful. Eventually his gaze drew to her chest, still hidden by her shirt, and it made her pause.

At some point, Rose had to embrace the body she had, didn't she? If she was fine the way she was, then so was her body. She wasn't perfect, but was anyone? She'd been sleeping with Scorpius for weeks, and he had plenty of time to object. He'd said she was sexy, and in this position, she _felt_ it.

"Are you okay?" he asked, kissing the corner of her mouth. She'd stopped moving entirely.

With a deep breath, Rose pulled her shirt over her head.

When she emerged, smoothing her hair, she could tell he was trying very hard not to smile. As she grinded her hips down, Scorpius left bruising kisses on her breasts, making her cry out.

It wasn't long until Scorpius was losing control, breaths turning to quick pants, lips latched onto her neck. He grasped her arse tightly, but the pleasure was so intense she couldn't feel it. He moaned her name as he came, voice rough and guttural.

Rose stilled on top of him, trying to catch her breath, pressing their foreheads together. Her chest was still heaving when Scorpius leaned in to kiss her.

She broke off with a breathy laugh. "I can't breathe yet."

"I can't help it," he whispered, kissing her once more. "You're so beautiful."

His words had her head spinning all over again.

Rose wiggled out of his grip and pulled the sheets out from underneath them and overtop of her. Scorpius joined her a moment later and she turned away; she caught her breath, but somehow she still felt like her lungs weren't getting enough. Everything about what just happened left her feeling far too vulnerable.

His arms wrapped around her anyway, oblivious. "You can nap here if you want."

"I might." She did feel exhausted.

"I wanted to talk to you about this," he said quietly.

"What?" Rose was immediately on alert, nervous. "Is this what you wanted to tell me last weekend?"

"Yeah." His fingers played at her waist, lips on her shoulder. "I know this started out as us having fun, but I think something's changed."

"It has?" she asked, voice small.

"At least, for me it has." The sudden uncertainty was unfamiliar in his voice. "That's why we should talk about it."

Rose turned around so she could look at him properly. She wanted to confirm what he meant because the sinking in her chest was coming in fast. "So… you're saying you don't want to do this anymore?"

"What? No," he said quickly, confused. "That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying the opposite."

Now Rose was confused. " _What_?"

"Listen," he said, taking her hand. "I'm saying that this isn't just for fun anymore. Obviously it's not, we spend nearly all our time together." Scorpius was all over the place, and it took a moment for Rose to decipher what he was trying to say.

And then it clicked, and Rose was up in an instant, gathering the sheets around her.

Scorpius sat up and shoved his glasses back on. "What's wrong?"

"Nononono _no_ ," she rambled, scrambling back. "No, we're just friends."

"Oh, come on," he said, chuckling. "You know that's not exactly true."

"I don't know _what_ you're talking about."

He frowned. "Are you seriously saying that everything that happened today is normal friend behaviour? I'm not about to do any of the shit today with just any of my female friends, Rose. We're clearly way past friendship. We have been for a while."

"We're not," she said automatically, hugging her legs to her chest. "We can't be, okay?"

"Why not?"

"Because we're friends," Rose protested, the words sounding weak to even her own ears. "Just friends."

"That's just what we say!" he countered, hands raking through his hair, making it wild. "We say that because it's _safe_. It's safer to say we're friends than admit we care —"

"Scorpius —"

"— and I _do_ care." He swallowed.

"I care," she said quietly, staring at her knees. Fuck, she was not going to lose her shit. She couldn't. "You're my friend. I care about you. So much."

Scorpius was quiet for a moment.

"So we can be _friends_ ," he said carefully, hurt traced in every word, "and we can shag, but we can't call it what it is. That's how you're rationalizing it."

"I never promised you anything," she pointed out. "You didn't promise me anything, either. Neither of us wanted a relationship."

"Things changed."

"Since when?"

"Since you wormed your way into everything," he said, annoyed. "Since you just had to know everything about me, and you had to be so fucking wonderful about it. Since you made me fall for you."

Rose faltered, guilt choking her. "I can't." _I can't fall for you._

" _Why not_?" he challenged, voice rising. "And please don't tell me it's because you're – I dunno, being independent or something –"

"What if it is?" she cut in. "Can't you understand that? My whole life is a mess, _I'm_ a fucking mess, and you know that better than anyone. You should understand why I can't be in a relationship right now."

"You're not a mess," he said, frustrated, "and why the hell does being independent mean you can figure things out any better? I've been your sounding board for weeks, and I would never have applied for that course if it wasn't for you."

Rose couldn't even respond to that.

"I _am_ a mess," she insisted instead.

"Fucking hell," he said, turning away to put his boxers back on. "This whole thing with reinventing yourself is insanity. No one can do that."

"So now I'm insane?" she asked, stung. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He poked his head through his shirt before answering. "You're not insane. Never mind."

" _Scorpius_."

"What?" he demanded. "I've told you it's all bullshit from the beginning, haven't I?"

"Why?" she asked, throwing her hands up. "Is it so bad to try to become a better person? Is it so bad that I want to do better in my life?"

"But when does it _stop_?" he erupted. "When are you done reinventing yourself? How many runs does it take? How many meals do you need to make? How many pieces of furniture do you need to buy? What's it going to take to realize you're _you_ , and you can just be okay with that? And that _I'm_ okay with that?"

Rose was taken aback for a moment; she'd never seen Scorpius like this.

"I don't know," she said shakily, feeling the burn in her eyes. "I don't know, but I have a long way to go before I'm going to be okay with myself."

"And until then, you don't want a relationship," he said dully.

"I don't."

Scorpius thought for a long time before he replied.

"Well, I don't want any of it, then," he decided. His jaw was clenched tightly and he spoke through gritted teeth. "I don't want to be friends."

"I – _nothing_?" Rose asked weakly.

He looked away. "No."

"I can't be more than friends, Scorpius," she said pleadingly, tugging the sheets tighter around her. "Relationships are so much pressure. I've never been able to handle it without losing myself. I just got myself back, okay? I finally feel like myself again."

"It doesn't have to be like that."

"But what if it is?" Rose wiped her cheeks roughly, barely registering her tears. "What if being friends is the best I can do? I don't know what love is supposed to feel like. What if I can't be a good girlfriend?"

Scorpius closed his eyes and exhaled out a long breath.

"Well," he said quietly, "I don't need more friends. And I'm not doing this anymore."

With that, he turned away and went back to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He didn't come out, ignoring Rose's knocking and pleading. He stayed in there the entire time she got dressed back in her stupid party outfit and didn't answer when she said goodbye, having no choice but to leave.

And the worst part about it? All she wanted to do was grab at his cheekbones and kiss him until the hurt was gone from his eyes and he was smiling at her again.

Love or not, things had quickly spiralled out of control.

* * *

A/N: *peeks from behind fingers* Please don't hate me... or Rose... or Scorpius! We're all very flawed beings!

In all seriousness, I really hoped you enjoyed the chapter overall. The fluff was really lovely to write, Rose's understanding of love is developing (of course, before Scorpius rushed things) and I promise things will be happy again very soon.

Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think :)


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

When Rose reached Albus and Charlotte's flat, she was happy to see that no one was there. In one sense she'd figured, since there were only two days until the wedding, but she didn't realize how relieved she was until the spare key turned in the lock—Rose had forgotten to give that back—and it was eerily quiet.

She retrieved her things from the bedroom, quickly changing into the outfit she'd packed in her bag and found her purse sitting on the kitchen counter. She grabbed it, seriously contemplating if she would get caught for Apparating into a Muggle building; all she wanted to do was dive into bed until the next day.

" _There_ you are!"

Rose literally jumped when she heard Roxanne's voice behind her, swivelling around to see her in the doorway, looking absolutely furious. _Shit._

"Where the _actual fuck_ have you been?" she demanded, stalking over. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Rose's mouth opened and closed. "I've—shit, I'm so sorry Roxy—"

"I came back here," she continued, "and you left your wand here, and then Skye and I looked around for you in Diagon Alley for hours, then we went to your flat and knocked but you weren't there—Rose?"

Rose had burst into tears.

"I'm sorry," she said, angrily wiping them away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you, I'm fine, I just—I'm sorry—"

"Are you okay?" Roxy asked, launching forward to wrap her arms around her. "What happened? You're not hurt, are you?"

Rose managed a feeble, "I'm not hurt," into Roxanne's shoulder. Ten minutes later, they were Roxanne and Noah's flat on the outskirts of Diagon Alley, Rose was seated on their living room couch with a large mug of tea in her hands and Noah was cooking something for dinner that smelled delicious.

"All right," Roxanne said, sipping her tea, "who do I need to kill?"

"It's my fault, actually." Rose stared into her mug, exhaustion hitting her brain in a wave. She was about to brush it off, avoid it like she normally would, but something stopped her. She trusted Roxanne, and besides, how had avoiding and denial and running away from the situation helped with Scorpius? She still ended up hurt, and hurting _him_.

She wasn't going to run away from it anymore. Not from anything.

"I was with Scorpius," Rose confessed.

"Scorpius Malfoy?" Roxanne repeated, flabbergasted. "Is that still going on? You haven't talked about in weeks."

Resigned, Rose told her everything. The guilt physically pulled at her belly as she spoke about how she ignored the reservations in the back of her mind, how she'd practically invaded his life— _'wormed'_ her way in, as Scorpius put it—and pushed the limits past their friendship.

"Why'd you do it?" Roxy asked, not looking altogether surprised, but baffled.

"I didn't really think it through," Rose answered, but as soon as she said it, she realized it was because she found Scorpius infinitely interesting, and the more she found out, the more she wanted to know. More than anyone she'd ever dated before.

Dear Merlin, she was so fucked.

"So, let me get this straight," Roxy recounted. "You were neighbours and friends. Then you started your whole friends-with-benefits thing with him and continued becoming friends, and at no time during this you thought this would be a bad idea?"

"I really don't know why I did it, other than I'm a colossal idiot."

"And last night you were talking about _Nathan_ , which I don't even understand," Roxy continued. "Weren't you saying how you were attracted to him but felt too intimidated to be yourself around him?"

Rose had forgotten about that. "Yeah."

"Do you feel like yourself around Malfoy?"

Rose only stared into her tea, but Roxy understood the affirmation.

"I didn't want to hurt him," Rose said quietly, willing the tears back behind her eyes. "Remember when I broke up with Travis last year? Things had gotten so bad. I promised myself I'd stay single so I could figure my shit out, and I feel like I only _just_ started when Albus kicked me out and I lost my job."

"I remember," she confirmed. "Do you remember when you turned down promotions for Travis? I told you that wasn't a good idea."

"His fragile male ego couldn't handle it," Rose muttered, making Roxanne snort.

"Understatement of the year."

"I really need to stop trying to please everyone."

"You weren't trying to please Malfoy, were you?" she teased.

"But what else was I supposed to do?" Rose asked. "Scorpius would only hate me more down the line. If I could take back what happened, I would, but I can't. But getting in a relationship when I'm like… well, _this_? It seems like a bad idea."

"I notice the issue isn't whether or not you have feelings for him," Roxanne pointed out, making Rose choke, "but you're right, it doesn't seem like you're ready."

She sighed. "Not that he understands. He thinks reinventing myself is ridiculous, but it's not _._ For the first time in so long, I'm improving my life and it makes me feel like I'm actually going to be someone. I'm working towards goals and it honestly feels amazing."

"I think it's okay to have goals, but you don't have to become a different person."

It hadn't occurred to Rose that this was what she was aiming for. "I dunno. I feel like I'm becoming more _myself._ Instead of this shell of a person I was before."

"Why do you even want to reinvent yourself so badly?" Roxy asked. "I don't think it's ridiculous at all, but I'm a bit curious."

"I just wanted to be the type of woman who just has everything together," Rose explained. "I know I lost my direction a long time ago, but I think I have what it takes to pull myself out of this. If I keep at this, I'll have a career I'm proud of. Maybe a life I'm proud of."

"There's your idealism," Roxy teased, "but you just snagged a job and you have this cute little flat now. What's not to be proud of?"

Rose bit her lip. "Things just don't seem right yet. My mum's probably going to be thrilled about the job, but I don't know if it's what I want to be doing. I still feel massively unstable."

"Who really sets that standard, then?"

Rose mulled that over. Whose terms was she living by?

Roxy glanced over to the kitchen, where Noah was blissfully unaware of the conversation, whistling cheerily and clanging around as he made supper. "It's independence you're after, right?"

"I think so." Rose was much more certain of what she wanted about two hours ago. "I just want control over my life. I want to stop feeling like everything is always falling apart."

"You could argue that I'm not independent."

Rose stared at her. "What? You have a great job that you _like._ You've travelled everywhere. You're engaged and you're looking to buy a fucking house."

"I mean, sure," Roxy said, shrugging, "but I'm also in a mostly long-distance relationship with no sure date of that ending. Also, I've never taught anything in my life and got my job purely from connections. I'm probably going to struggle and cry on your couch a lot this year."

"I guess," she chuckled.

"I wouldn't say I've gotten it all figured out _or_ independent." Roxy gestured to Noah. "I mean, we've been together since Hogwarts. We've both had to figure shit out at different points in our lives, but we haven't broken up because of it. I think you can be in a relationship, still do your own thing and support each other. I think that means you're in the _right_ relationship."

Rose considered this, thinking that whatever it was she had with Scorpius was unquestionably better than most of her relationships, and that included some of the friendships she had (namely, Albus).

"I guess I always thought I should be alone until I get things figured out," she confessed. "It's sort of a selfish thing I need to do, isn't it? It wouldn't want to put Scorpius through it."

"You sort of already have, it seems."

"Point taken," Rose said, wincing. And he still wanted to be with her? It was honestly absurd.

Roxanne was quiet, looking at Rose thoughtfully.

"What?" she asked self-consciously.

"Nothing." But upon seeing the look on Rose's face, she hastily added, "I just think it's… strange."

"What's strange?"

"He hurt you," Roxy began, but she was clearly hesitating.

"Please don't hold back," Rose told her, thinking back to the slightly humiliating intervention her friends had given her at the bachelorette party. She loved her friends, but besides Skye's mostly forthcoming honesty, sometimes they were a little too nice. "Just rip the band-aid off and tell me, okay?"

"You're not _obligated_ to be with him," she burst out, "and if you're so close, why doesn't he understand that? Or that you're not ready for a relationship?"

Rose looked down at her now-cold tea. "I think I just hurt him first."

"Relationships are mutual agreements," she argued. "He might be calling your bluff, but it's a shitty thing to use an ultimatum when you two agreed on not having a relationship in the first place."

"Maybe." Rose definitely thought it was more complicated than that, but she couldn't deny she was hurt by the entire situation. Even if he'd lashed out because of her, the lashing out was rather painful.

They were quiet for a moment, listening to the tap running and taking in whatever Noah was cooking that smelled delicious. Rose couldn't stop thinking of what Roxanne had pointed out, that while she couldn't feel like herself around someone like Nathan, it was easy with Scorpius. It had never occurred to her to hide herself from him because they were friends, but it was so natural to feel pressured in a relationship. What if they were in a relationship—would that change?

 _No_ was the immediate reaction of that little voice in her head. She would never feel pressured to be someone else with Scorpius. Time and time again, he'd been clear that he preferred her the way she was.

Rose didn't want to be in a relationship because she would only disappoint. She never thought she would disappoint Scorpius, but she did, and that was as friends.

"I need to apologize to him," Rose conceded.

"You both should." Roxy sat up. "Skye wanted to apologize, too. She feels awful."

"For snogging Nathan? She knows I don't want to date him."

"She wants to explain what happened," Roxy said, shrugging. "I expect she'll probably tell you at the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night."

Rose leaned her head back on the couch and groaned. "Nathan's going too, isn't he?"

"Probably, he's in Charlotte's family."

"I'm going to have to tell him," she realized, the dread sinking her gut. "I'm going to have to tell him I'm not interested."

Roxanne grinned. "You said it yourself, didn't you? You have to stop trying to please everyone. That includes hurting Nathan's feelings."

"I've already hurt enough people," Rose mumbled, unable to shake Scorpius from her mind. "How do I know for sure? If I have feelings or not?"

Roxy paused. "That's hard to say. I mean, we were talking about how last night that butterflies don't mean feelings, but that's how it starts for some people. The short answer is that you just know."

"But I _don't_ know," Rose said, trying not to pull at her hair in frustration. She knew she cared for Scorpius, but how would she define it? "That's my whole problem."

"Well," she considered, "there's one thing for sure. If you can run away from it, if it doesn't hurt like a bitch… it's probably not love."

Rose was quiet, processing.

"I'm sorry, that's a pretty shitty answer."

"At least you tried," Rose assured, giving her a weak smile, "and you put up with all my nonsense. At least you know what it's like."

"I think you're starting to know what it's like," she said, smiling back. "Besides, I think half your nonsense is going to go away once you actually eat something. And sleep."

Roxanne didn't trust Rose to go back to her own flat without losing her mind—probably a good call—so she joined Roxy and Noah for dinner, refused the wine adamantly and spent the rest of the night attempting to distract herself by playing chess with Roxy, who was always a decent opponent.

It wasn't until she had settled in for sleep on the couch under a warm blanket, the silence ringing loudly in her ears, when her mind wandered back to him. For the first time in a while, the loneliness set in, and she missed the sound of Scorpius' steady breathing that always managed to curb the twisting in her belly.

She _hated_ that she hurt him.

The irony wasn't lost on her; she hadn't been in a relationship with him and she still disappointed Scorpius. Maybe she should have kept her distance, preventing any of this from happening in the first place.

Or maybe disappointing people was inevitable. The thought was oddly freeing.

Rose wondered if he was okay, if he ate—he never ate when he was upset—and was able to fall asleep, though he was never the one with sleeping issues. She wondered if he would give her a chance to apologize, given how hurt he was.

As she thought through this, it occurred to her that she really did _care,_ much more than just a friend. And even if she realized that what she felt was more than friendship, it was too soon to put a label on it just yet. Would it make sense to him to take things slowly with her, if that's what she needed?

He always understood her. Would he understand her now?

* * *

Rose didn't have to wait very long to find out.

After a fitful night of sleep, she dragged herself back to her flat, only just controlling herself from using magic to float up the three flights of stairs. She counted the steps up, muttering a triumphant, "Fifty- _two!_ " as she reached the landing. Unfortunately, she wasn't looking where she was going, and she bumped into a body and nearly flew back down the stairs.

A strong grip on her arm stopped her life flashing before her eyes, and Scorpius—who else could it be?—yanked her up and steadied her immediately. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied breathlessly, finding her footing again.

"Watch where you're going," he said, scowling as he looked down at his lab coat. He had been holding a large cup of coffee, and now there were large brown splotches down his front.

"I'm so sorry," Rose cried, following as he grumpily stomped back to his flat. "I swear I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine." Scorpius was very pointedly not looking at her, slipping off his lab coat and inspecting the front of his shirt. It was less obvious, but also stained.

"I can Vanish it if you—"

"I'll do it later," he said shortly, unbuttoning his shirt. "You can go."

Rose knew it was probably wrong to be turned by him undressing when he was so angry with her, but she definitely was. Either way, while they were both there and she had her chance, she had to talk to him.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he repeated dully, putting his coffee down and opening a drawer to his dresser and rooting through for another shirt. "I'll fix it after work."

"That's not what I mean," she clarified quickly. There was a loud thrumming in Rose's body. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I reacted badly."

"Okay."

Rose didn't know what to say; she hadn't quite rehearsed it in her head because she didn't think she would get this far. Not that it was very much to begin with; Scorpius kept his focus on his buttons as he buttoned up a new checkered shirt.

"I'm not really sure how I feel," she began, stumbling for the right words. "All I really know is that you mean a lot to me, and I want to work this out somehow."

He side-stepped her to get to his closet, barely brushing past.

"Scorpius."

He didn't answer, jerking a clean lab coat so hard the hanger clattered to the floor. He put it on and swung his bag back over his shoulder.

"Don't do this, Scorpius."

"I'm not doing anything," he said, and she could tell he was trying hard to sound indifferent. She hurried to block the door, dropping her bag onto the floor in front of it, and he rolled his eyes. "Real mature."

"I want to fix this," she said quietly.

"And I have to get to work."

"It's _your_ store. Don't tell me you can't be late for once in your life."

"Just because you're always late, doesn't mean some people don't value punctuality."

Rose ignored the jab. "I just want to talk. That's it."

"And I _don't_ ," he said through gritted teeth. "Move."

"Don't shut me out again," she pleaded as he folded his arms across his chest, still looking anywhere but her. "I know you're angry, but all of this meant something to me, okay? I just don't really understand it yet."

"Great," he replied bitingly, "let me know when you've figured it out. Hopefully one of us is still alive."

She tried not to let this bother her. "Scorpius _._ "

" _What_?" he demanded. "What do you want from me? You've made your feelings pretty clear."

"Why can't we talk about this?" she asked. She knew he was hurt, but working it out was more important than a few hurtful remarks. "Why are you closing me out?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I don't want to be friends. You can save your breath."

"Okay," she accepted, "but—"

"And maybe that's just who I am," he continued, ignoring her. "Maybe I'm just closed-off, emotionally unavailable or whatever bullshit you want to throw at me—"

"I didn't say any of that!" she protested, thrown off guard. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Nothing."

Rose felt at a loss. "You really don't want me in your life anymore?"

"You don't want me in yours," he said, taking advantage of her confusion and pushing past her to open the door.

"That's not true at all," she said instinctively, words tumbling out before she could think them through. "I'm just scared."

Scorpius stopped short. "Of _me_?"

"No," she said, though she certainly felt afraid then, like he was going to slip away at any moment. "Of what this is. Or was. I don't want to fuck it up, okay? You mean more than any of my exes ever did."

"Sure," he said stonily, "as a friend, right?"

"No, it's just—listen, I'm trying, here," Rose pleaded. "I'm trying to make the leap. All I'm asking is that you might be patient with me. Not for very long, just until I figure this out."

Scorpius stared at her in disbelief. "No."

"Why not?"

"I'm not waiting around for you to figure out whether you have feelings for me."

"That's not what I mean!" she denied instantly; she was pretty sure she knew that part. "I know you can't do that. I meant my job, so I might want to take things a little slower—"

"No," he repeated, looking away and using his foot to shove her bag into the hall. "I'm done. I'm not doing this anymore."

"So that's it, then?" she said miserably, following him out the door. "You don't want to be around me at all? Why do we have to rush into this? Is there no way you could compromise for three seconds just so my anxiety doesn't go through the roof? "

"Apparently I don't have the ability to compromise."

Rose threw her hands up. "I didn't say that either! What the _hell_ , Scorpius—"

"You know what?" he said, suddenly inflamed. "I should've done this a long time ago. When we met."

She stopped, heart beating wildly. "What?"

"I knew this was a bad idea," he said, speaking as though he was running out of breath. "I didn't want to be in a relationship either, but I knew I was kidding myself in saying we were just friends. I knew I'd want more eventually."

"I… I didn't know," she said shakily. "This is all new for me."

"I'm always going to want more," he said dejectedly. "So I can't do this. I can't be around you. It's probably really selfish and terrible, but that's how I am, so…"

It was obvious that he didn't understand what she was trying to say, and she knew he was on defense, protecting himself. Rose opened her mouth, attempting to find the words to express how much he meant to her, but nothing seemed like enough.

"Just leave me alone, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he shut his door, not bothering to lock it and rushed down the hall, getting away as fast as he could. Leaving her even more confused and hurt and frustrated than before.

Leaving her wondering if she ever understood him at all.

* * *

Rose was still trembling when she entered her flat. She vaguely saw the neighbour's cat flitting in between her ankles as she opened the door, nearly tripping her as he darted inside her flat. She immediately headed for her shower, hoping it might bring some ease to her mind.

Because what the _fuck_ even was that?

She stood under the water for a long time, miserable and trying to calm down. Everything with Scorpius spun her mind in circles, but even though she couldn't clearly make sense of their conversation, she couldn't bring herself to be angry with him. She'd clearly incensed something in him and now he was struggling with it.

And then clarity struck through her, freezing her in the hot water.

Scorpius was not going to forgive Rose.

Unlike her, he didn't care what people thought. He wouldn't care if she was miserable or if she was so angry she threw eggs at his door. He didn't want to be friends so he could protect himself. He had no need to please her; when he wanted her to leave him alone, he meant it.

And now that she could see his clear path out of her life, there wasn't any question. There wasn't a distance she could go, no avoiding him like she avoided all her exes to forget them, no possible way he was ever going to leave her mind. It was clear now, why people said you just _knew_ when you were in love, because it was true. Roxanne was right: you can't explain it.

That, and everything hurt like an absolute bitch.

Rose was in love. And an idiot.

* * *

Rose spent the rest of the day recovering and decidedly _not_ crying. She played with the neighbour's cat, watched a horror movie despite Halloween being months away and ate a lot more ice cream than she would care to admit.

An hour before the rehearsal dinner, Rose was sitting on her living room floor, trying to understand why building the bookshelf was so frustrating. She was doing all right and built the foundation, but the two pieces she was trying to fit together didn't match anymore. After five minutes of poring through the instructions, she nearly smacked herself; she'd put the nails in on the wrong side.

With some difficulty, Rose learned how to reverse the nails with the drill. The nails were coming out, but she didn't have a good grip on the other pieces and they slipped from her hands. As the last nail came out, the shelves fell apart, and the cat meowed loudly from his corner from the reverberated thuds.

And suddenly, she was angry.

Angry with Scorpius for rushing her, and angry with herself for not being ready. Angry that he didn't accept her apology and angry because she couldn't find the words for love just a little bit sooner. Angry with herself for caring what everyone thought and not feeling like she was good enough to be in a relationship.

Angry because she never felt good enough, no matter what she did.

As she stared at the broken pieces, there was a loud knock at her door. Rose forced herself up, legs feeling like lead. Perhaps it was Roxanne, coming to check on her? She didn't think it was Scorpius. She was sure she'd driven him out of her life for good.

Instead, when she opened the door, she found the last person she wanted to see, wearing a beautiful floor-length dress and hair in a sleek bun at the back of her head. The person she'd been avoiding for weeks, for good reason.

What the hell was her mother doing here?

And why did she look like she was going to shit a brick?

* * *

A/N: Hi there! I hope you liked this chapter, even if things are still tense. If any of you have any ideas why Scorpius is acting the way he is, let me know your theories, I would love to hear them (there are clues in previous chapters too). But despite what Rose thinks, he isn't out of her life for good. I like happy endings :)

Thank you so much for reading, and please let me know what you thought! The next one is the second-to-last chapter.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

_A/N: Hey there! I just wanted to note something before this chapter. A lot of you gave me amazing insight into your thoughts about the last chapter, thank you so much! It has been super helpful. But also, it seems I've made a little mistake with what Roxanne was trying to say, and the point didn't come across properly. Completely my fault, sorry about that! I've tried to fix it in this chapter though. :)_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Rose couldn't quite believe her eyes. Her mum, always put-together and all-knowing, looked extremely anxious and fretful. She'd never quite seen her mum like this, besides once when she had a big presentation at work and she'd forced Rose to watch her presentation six times. On _summer_ _vacation._

Yes, that memory was still a little painful.

"Where have you been?" her mum asked, not waiting a moment to wrap her arms around Rose. "The girls said you skipped the spa today. Roxanne said you were sick."

"Oh, fuck." Rose grew even angrier with herself; she'd completely forgotten about the pre-wedding spa day her friends had planned.

"Rose," her mother said, warning in her voice.

" _What_?" she snapped, tearing away from the hug. She folded her arms in front of her and stalked back to her couch, flopping herself on it. "I forgot."

"Aren't you coming to the rehearsal dinner?" Her mum looked her up and down; Rose was still in pyjamas.

"I haven't decided yet."

Rose's mum closed the door behind her before coming over to sit down beside Rose. She at least seemed a little cautious, which made Rose feel a little vindicated. She couldn't remember the last time her mum had seen her angry, besides the last disagreement they had.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"I heard you got a job—"

" _Don't_ talk to me about that," Rose fumed.

There was a pause.

"You seem angry," her mum said worriedly.

"I _am_ angry!" she retorted. "I'm angry with _you_!"

"Me?"

"Yes!" Rose put her hands over her eyes. "I'm angry that I can't decide on a job because I keep thinking you won't approve. I'm angry that I have to be the fucking golden child—"

"Rose!"

"And Hugo gets away with whatever stupid shit he wants to do. I'm angry because you're never happy with me, and now _I'm_ never happy with me, and you made me lose Scor—" She stopped and turned away, swallowing heavily. Rose knew that she'd internalized the pressure her mother had put on her through childhood.

She just never realized how bad it had become.

Her mum went quiet. "I've been thinking a lot about when we last spoke."

"Have you, now?" she asked. "Well, I don't care. I don't know why I care what anyone thinks of me, why I go out of my way to make everyone happy, because _no one_ is ever happy, especially not you. I can't handle the pressure, so I'm not going to care anymore, okay?"

"Okay, but I still want to say what I came here to say."

"Seriously?"

"Yes," she said, looking apologetic and taking her hand. "Rose, I was wrong."

Those words made Rose stop and stare, blinking at her as though she'd never seen her before. It felt as though the breath had left her lungs. All those years of being compared to her brother and her classmates—then picking up the habits and comparing herself to everyone else—were flickering through the forefront of her mind.

" _What_?" Rose choked, ripping her hand away.

"I was wrong," her mum admitted again, expression crumbling. "I was wrong to push you into something you didn't want and to apply for only Ministry positions. I was wrong to meddle in your decisions. I was wrong to pressure you, Rose, and I'm sorry."

Rose was stunned into silence. Her mother had never said those words to her before.

And frankly? She wasn't sure she wanted to hear them anymore.

"Do you really mean that?" Rose asked.

"I do." Her mother played with a gold chain around her neck. "I wanted to see you do well. You've always been able to get off your feet and succeed when you put your mind to it. You wanted to figure it out on your own, but I think I've been overbearing these past few weeks."

"You think?" Rose said, surprised when a little laughter burst from her throat.

"Yes." She ran a hand over Rose's hair, a soothing motion, looking apologetic. "I'm proud of you. I really am."

Another thing she'd never said before.

Rose was angry with the couple of tears that raced down her cheeks. "What even brought this on?"

"I've been thinking about it since we argued the other day," she said dejectedly. "At first I was upset, but I realized you were right. You're a grown woman and you're capable of leading your life. And then I realized that I'd never told you as much, have I?"

Rose cleared her throat. "I'm not that capable. I don't even want the job that Albus got me. I just took it because I felt like I had to, so I could make Albus happy. So I could be someone."

"You are capable and you are someone, with or without a job," her mum said, gently wiping her cheeks, "and Albus is very stressed about the wedding, and then he'll be off on his honeymoon. I'm not sure he'll be around to care."

The cat, previously creeping around the edge of the sofa, suddenly leapt into Rose's lap. He curled up on her legs and watched her mum carefully, as though he were surveying her.

"I've always loved cats," her mum said fondly.

"Me too."

"Does Scorpius like cats?"

Rose shrugged, nearly snickering at how un-subtle her mother was.

"Are you two dating?" her mum asked gently.

"No." Rose avoided her gaze and ran her fingers over the cat's back, making him dig his head into her leg. "He wanted to, but I said some shitty things because I'm not ready."

"You don't feel ready?"

"Mum, I'm a huge mess," Rose said bluntly. "I don't know what I'm doing with my life, and for some reason, Scorpius likes me for me." Her cheeks heated at the thought. "I just thought that maybe I should try to not be literally _falling apart_ at the beginning of a relationship, but he doesn't want to even talk to me unless I go all in. I feel a bit trapped."

Even as Rose said it, she heard Roxy's voice in the back of her mind: _Who set that standard?_

Her mother thought for a moment. "It's good that he likes you for you. But he shouldn't pressure you if you're not ready."

"He's not a bad person," Rose said instantly. "He's really not, he's usually so understanding, but just… not about this."

"Not about something that involves him?" her mum suggested, cracking a smile. "Maybe he's not a bad person. But he certainly isn't perfect, Rose, no one is."

"And I know he doesn't have to wait for me." Rose scratched behind the cat's ear. "I just thought that if he really cared, he'd just hear me out, that's all. But he's being completely irrational and practically gluing himself shut."

A bit like how it was when she nearly saw the clip of Annika Nott in the newspaper, now that she thought of it.

"You should wait," her mum advised. "Sometimes people just need a little time to cool down. He'll come find you when he's ready."

"I'm not sure about that." Scorpius was quite elusive when he wanted to be.

Her mother paused, looking apprehensive all of a sudden. "Do you really think your life is a mess? Because from where I'm standing, you're doing better than Hugo in many ways."

"Don't compare me to Hugo."

"Sorry," she said quickly, "but your life isn't a mess."

"That's what everyone keeps saying," Rose burst out, another surge of anger going through her. "But at the same time, everyone's moving along with their careers, getting married, buying houses… I barely have enough saved to get through the next three months. I already know I don't like my job."

"What kind of job do you want?"

"I can't decide!" she exclaimed, causing the cat to mewl. "How do I decide? Out of everything you could do, or should do, how does someone even decide _one thing_ to do with their life?"

Her mum looked at her thoughtfully. "Maybe you don't have to decide."

"I—excuse me?"

"I felt like this when I was young," she said, shrugging. "I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I thought I could finish my N.E.W.T.s, so I went back to school."

Rose considered this, remembering vaguely that her father had mentioned this at the bridal shower. She had been doing that course and enjoyed it more than she thought, but beyond that, she never thought going back to school might help.

"It let me explore my options," her mother continued. "Your dad went to work because he knew what he wanted, but I just knew I wanted to learn. It seemed like the most plausible option."

"It would be nice to explore my options," Rose admitted.

"Maybe you're a little behind compared to your friends," her mum reasoned, "but who says you need to follow the traditional path in life?"

Rose tried not to laugh. "Well, _you_ did."

"Right." She shrugged guiltily. "Well, that's dead and gone. Might as well move on."

"It just seems a bit… risky. I've already wasted so much time."

"It's not wasted time, it's experience," her mother corrected. "I haven't been the most understanding of that, but... I understand now."

"Experience," she repeated slowly, frowning.

"It can help you make those big decisions you're thinking of."

"I suppose," Rose relented, "but I can still get it wrong."

"Not everything can be right. Sometimes you have to take risks that aren't impulsive, get out of the safety of your comfort zone. Calculated risks are part of life."

 _Safe_. Scorpius had used that word as well. There was safety in the way that Rose often tried to do things, from choosing her old receptionist job she would neither hate nor love, to insisting on being just friends with Scorpius because anything more scared the crap out of her.

And perhaps Scorpius had his own safety measures, from staying at a job he knew he would always have, staying single for three years to avoid getting hurt again, to physically (and probably mentally) shutting Rose out when she turned him down.

Besides, all those weeks they had together, he had insisted they were friends, too.

"And don't forget," her mum added, "most of your friends are going to have a mid-life crisis and change careers entirely, just like you. Wait until you see them with their own existential fears in about twenty years."

Rose laughed.

"Maybe I will take some courses," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe I could work part-time. It would be nice to study again, even just a little bit."

Her mother beamed. "I'm sure I could help out with that. If you wanted."

She snorted; some things were definitely not going to change, then. "I would love to not be entirely broke."

"I think we often forget that money and success are not the only possible end goals. I'm guilty of that."

Rose understood a long time ago that her mother had an unhealthy fear of failure. Maybe another thing she'd managed to inherit. "Me too."

"Things started to get better for me when I focused on learning again. After all, they are not the only paths to happiness, are they?"

"That's true." Though they did help; like everything, it seemed to be a balancing act.

"So," her mum said, looking around her apartment and zeroing in on the pile of wood, "What is all this, anyway?"

"I told you last time, it's a bookshelf. A deconstructed bookshelf."

"Why are you building it without magic?" her mum asked curiously, a clear absence of judgement in her voice. She walked over and picked up the large orange drill, making it whirr. "This is how my parents would do it."

"I just wanted to do it with my hands," Rose said, shrugging. "I wanted to build it, feel like I could do something on my own." _Feel in control._

But being in control all the time was becoming exhausting.

Her mum turned the drill over in her hands, looking… _impressed_? "That makes a lot of sense, actually."

"It does?" Then Rose cleared her throat, frowning at herself; she could do better than that. She could set the standard. "Yes, it does. I've done a lot of things lately that make sense."

"As in?"

"I ran a 5K," she listed, counting on her fingers. "I'm still running. I moved out on my own. I'm learning how to cook. I managed to get a job and I started this economics course."

Her mum had claimed to be proud of her before, but for the first time, she actually _looked_ proud. Rose could definitely get used to that.

"Also," her mother added teasingly, "you fell in love."

Rose covered her face with her hands. " _Mum._ "

As she teased Rose, there was ease in her expression that Rose hadn't seen in a long time. Perhaps it wouldn't always be this way, but Rose was glad she'd finally stood up for herself. She hadn't realized it would actually _improve_ her relationship with her mother.

Avoiding confrontation and constant denial was definitely overrated.

"So, is this what love is like, then?" Rose pondered. "Completely miserable?"

Her mum laughed loudly. "Yes. Yes it is. But not always, right?"

Rose thought back to some of the most lovely, quiet moments she had with Scorpius and felt a pang of longing in her chest. "I suppose."

"Listen," her mother said meaningfully, "we never really stop trying to figure things out. We're always changing and trying to do better, and you don't have to face it alone. If you want to be with him, don't wait."

Rose wondered if that would be true for her. While it was certainly easier to focus on her goals without worrying about her relationship with Scorpius, she couldn't deny that his support meant the world to her. Roxanne had mentioned this, too. Maybe she and her mum both had a point.

As her mother finally accepted her, Rose realized it wasn't what she actually needed. Her mother being proud of her hadn't changed anything. Why should she care what anyone thought but herself?

Rose couldn't stay in control that way. She couldn't control what others thought of her.

And just like that, her mind cleared: she was okay.

She couldn't be okay with herself all the time, but she was actually doing all right, wasn't she? She landed a job that might lead to another one she loved more, and maybe she would study and figure out what that was. Scorpius was right, too: when would reinventing be enough? When was she allowed to be happy with herself?

It was okay to think back and be proud of the work she put in. More than okay.

Rose was fine the way she was. Or at least, she was trying to be.

* * *

If the only person Rose needed to please was herself, all she needed to do was decide what she really wanted. Making multiple decisions in a row was really difficult, okay? There is such a thing as decision fatigue.

But one thing she had decided? She was going to tell Nathan she wasn't interested.

No, really. She was.

Rose and her mum arrived at the rehearsal dinner predictably late. She had on her favourite blue dress, which was a little casual for the event, but it helped her feel like she could get through that night unscathed. This was one thing she _did_ like about herself: she leaned towards optimism. Most of the time.

Albus and Charlotte were in the middle practicing their dance (they were adorable), and she could recognize multiple family members scattered around the hall, chatting quietly and sitting at various round tables. Rose was glad she'd made it before the speeches began. She probably wouldn't get a lot of stage fright, but it would be nice to practice the speech she'd written months ago. She barely remembered it.

Rose joined the bridesmaid's table, where Roxanne, Skye and Ella had situated themselves and happily sipping wine.

Skye immediately tugged on Rose's arm as she sat down. "Hey, we need to talk."

"Oh," Rose said quickly, beginning to assure her, "it's fine—"

"I was so drunk," Skye griped. "I was just so mad Everett for being a complete arsehole, and Nathan's really fucking hot, but obviously I wasn't thinking when I kissed him. Just some rubbish about the game. I'm so sorry. You fancy him, don't you?"

"No." The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she was going to say. "You can go for it, if you want. Charlotte mentioned he was rebounding, too."

"I told you," Roxanne said, looking half-amused, half-annoyed. "Rose doesn't care. She told me this _when it happened._ "

Looking considerably more relieved, Skye sat back and let out a long breath. "Thank Merlin. I need to lay off the drink."

"That's what we always say, and never do," Rose pointed out, and they all laughed. "So, who won the game?"

"I did!" Ella piped up cheerily. "I proposed to Felix."

"He said no," Skye put in helpfully.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "You seem oddly happy about it, Ella."

"That's because he didn't exactly say no," Roxy explained. "She made a whole show of it after you left, and then he said 'Not yet,' and snogged her in the middle of the club."

Ella shrugged. "I still won the game."

Rose was no longer listening; she'd just spotted Nathan, and the dread causing sweat under her arms.

Still, she felt strong enough to get up from her table to approach him; this whole thing of not caring what other people thought and not running away had to start right then, and it couldn't wait any longer. Still, that didn't mean she didn't feel the intense urge to find the nearest pillar and duck behind it.

Why did not caring have to be so difficult?

Rose felt hyper-aware of her friends watching her and pushed that away immediately; who cared what they thought? She sent a smile towards Nathan, who sent a megawatt grin in return and jerked his head to gesture towards an empty table, well out of earshot from her friends.

"How've you been?" he greeted as they sat down.

"Good. Sorry I disappeared on you at the party," she said sheepishly.

"You saw the kiss with your friend, didn't you?" he asked anxiously. "It was for your game—well, I think it was, because she ran away afterwards. Point is, it didn't mean anything."

"I know," she assured, "it didn't mean anything to me, either."

_Ouch. Tone it back, Rose._

Nathan only seemed confused. "Er, I don't understand…"

Rose took a deep breath. It was time to rip off the band-aid; what was the worst that could happen, anyway?

"I think you're great," she said quickly, doing her best to ignore the rate at which her heart was racing. Shit, he was going to hate her so much—wait, she didn't care, _she didn't care._ "I'm just not interested in you like that. I'm sorry."

"Oh."

She waited nervously; his expression had gone blank. She prematurely winced, waiting for the backlash, because that was what usually happened when you bruised someone's ego, wasn't it? To her surprise, after a few moments, Nathan merely blinked and shrugged.

"All right," he said simply. "Do you want me to ask Charlotte to change the seating?"

"I don't want her to explode," Rose joked cautiously.

"I get special privileges as best mate," he said, winking good-naturedly at her. They went their separate ways and Rose went back to her table, a little shocked. Maybe he really was as nice as he seemed.

Besides, that was fast. Way faster than all the dwelling on it had been.

When Rose sat back down, Roxanne immediately shot her a smug smile, clearly having watched the whole thing. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"It sucked balls." Still, Rose exhaled in relief. "But it's over. And I don't give a shit what he thinks."

It wasn't _technically_ true, but she was trying, okay?

But she did it. She actually friend-zoned him.

They were then distracted by clapping; Charlotte and Albus finished their dance and ducking out of the hall. Rose straightened; they must have been starting the speeches, and the bride and groom of course didn't want to hear them before their big day.

Rose joined James, who was standing at the side of the stage; they would be giving their speech one after the other. "Ready?" James muttered to her as Albus' parents began their speeches.

"I wrote my speech months ago."

"I'm going to wing mine."

She snorted quietly. "Like your proposal? How is that going, by the way?"

"What if I proposed to my girlfriend in the middle of the dance floor tomorrow?" he asked, grinning. "That would be epic."

Rose shut her eyes in impatience. Albus was going to murder him. "James, I swear to Merlin."

"What?" he asked innocently, but then it was their turn to go on. James barely said anything, claiming he would be struck by inspiration in the moment—that was to say he would be sufficiently drunk by then—but Rose went through her speech fluidly, reading off the little note cards she had prepared.

She managed to shake off James as Charlotte's parents stepped on the stage and beelined back to Roxanne and Skye; Ella was waiting with Nathan at the stage for their turn at their speeches. Roxy held out a glass of water for her, which Rose took gratefully as she sat down.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'll get through the speech okay," Rose replied confidently. "I just have to make sure I don't remember Albus swinging in our old treehouse and I won't get too emotional."

Shit, she was already thinking about it. They really were growing up so fast.

"I meant about what happened yesterday?" Roxanne asked meaningfully.

Skye leaned in curiously. "What happened yesterday?"

"Um." Rose went red. "Do you remember that guy I was sleeping with? That's still… I dunno. A thing."

" _Wait,_ " Skye said, looking gleeful, "are you serious? Okay, I don't feel bad for snogging Nathan anymore."

"I told you," Roxy reminded her playfully before turning back to Rose. "So, did you talk to him?"

"Sort of. He hates me." Every time she said it, it felt like a punch to the gut. With lots of internal bleeding.

"He doesn't hate you," Roxanne said, clearly trying not to laugh at the dramatics. "He wants to be with you so much that he propositioned you even when he knew you weren't ready."

Skye was wide-eyed. "Oi, what the fuck did I miss?"

Rose was blushing in a way that made her want to dunk her head in an ice bath. "You didn't hear him today. He won't even speak to me."

"Well, just in the way you're not obligated to be with him, he's not obligated to speak to you," Roxy said.

"Thanks, that makes me feel _loads_ better," she groaned, but she comprehended; both Rose and Scorpius were right _and_ wrong, in their own way. Why couldn't everything be black and white?

On top of that, it was a bit like whiplash, the way Scorpius was acting, because he was normally so kind and understanding. But then she remembered just how irrational and ridiculous he'd been about that little newspaper clipping about Annika, and then there was that wedding picture on the wall that had him so vulnerable and disheartened.

Scorpius was mature about a lot of things, but he wasn't any more mature about love than she was.

"I'm still missing something, here," Skye said crossly. "Who are we even talking about?"

"Scorpius Malfoy," Roxanne told her.

"Roxy!"

"What?" Roxanne asked, shrugging at Rose. "She's going to find out tomorrow, anyway. Albus told me he invited Malfoy to the wedding reception."

Rose's jaw dropped. "He did _what_?"

"You're joking," Skye said, looking as though Christmas had come early. "That boy is like ice. Although, I guess it makes sense, since Rose is nosy as hell."

Rose grumbled; apparently Scorpius shared that opinion. "He's just quiet."

"They're in a spat," Roxanne shared. "Predictably, they fell for each other, and Rose pissed him off."

"It hasn't been that long, okay?" Rose defended. In fact, it had only been a little over a month, now that she thought of it. "I wasn't ready."

"Well, _get_ ready," Skye demanded. "You have to make up with him and bring him to the reception. I can't wait to see what all those gossip columnists are going to say about you two."

Rose supposed she had given those magazines very little content in the last year, thanks to her breakup with Travis. "Do you think they'll be here?"

"They always sneak into these things."

They were interrupted by an announcement for dinner. Rose leapt up and away from her friends, heading towards the buffet table to avoid any more questioning. She didn't know what to say; Scorpius wasn't speaking to her, and she didn't know how to get through to him. How was she supposed to explain to her friends that he probably wouldn't be attending the wedding?

Stuffing their faces was a better use of their mouths, anyway.

* * *

Since the hall was on the opposite end to her flat—the wedding had to be in Muggle London because of Charlotte's Muggle relatives—Rose decided to walk through Diagon Alley as a shortcut home. The sun had set and wizards and witches were bustling about the shops, chatting and laughing. It was a pleasant, warm night.

Her heart still felt heavy at the thought of Scorpius, but she needed to give him space and be patient. And in the meantime, she could keep working on herself and feel ready for a relationship again. There was the slightest sliver of hope in that.

And that's when she saw it.

'Graffiti' was a polite term for what Scorpius had described all those weeks ago. Someone had painted on the Apothecary front in deep red letters, looking disturbingly like dripping blood. " _COWARDS_ " was written on the left windows, and " _COLLABORATORS_ " splayed out on the right.

Rose found the back of Mr. Malfoy's head as he swished his wand around; there was clearly a very powerful sticking charm on the paint and he was struggling to get it off. His eyes flicked towards her when she stopped beside him, somewhere in between horrified and furious.

"Miss Weasley," he acknowledged.

"This is awful." Her voice was broken and hushed.

Whatever he'd been expecting her to say, it wasn't that. "Whoever painted this was very angry. Maybe a family member died in the war."

"Do you have any idea who it could be?"

"No," he said shortly. Rose could see a sheen of sweat on his forehead as he cast another spell, which rebounded back in a flash of red; he had to duck to avoid it. "They come in the middle of the night. We've been trying to get this off all day."

Rose's stomach twisted in tight tendrils. "Where is Scorpius? Is he inside?"

"No," he replied as she peeked through the window, seeing a woman with short brown hair standing at the till. There was something about her expression that was reminiscent of Scorpius when he was worried; this must be his mother. "He went back to his flat."

"He went home?" she confirmed, not quite believing he'd left with the paint still up.

"If you want to call it that."

Rose bit her tongue to avoid replying. Mr. Malfoy was much more flippant than his son, and she had a sense he wasn't very fond of her. That, or he was just upset with the obscenity all over his shop and she was reading into things.

"What have you tried?" Rose asked instead, pulling out her wand.

He side-eyed her with distrust, but responded anyway. "Counter curses, unsticking charms, powerful cleaning potions… they normally work on these sorts of things."

She got the gist. "But not this time."

"I might have to write to a Curse-Breaker," he admitted, sounding pained. "Close the shop for a few days."

"I know who might be available," Rose said, thinking of Roxanne and Noah's many years of experience in much more complicated matters. "Do you think I could try to get rid of it, though?"

"Be my guest," he said wearily.

Rose tried to concentrate, but her mind was on Scorpius, imagining the look on his face when he saw the shop that morning—right after their argument, too. She attempted a few unsticking charms and cleaning spells, earning an impatient noise from Mr. Malfoy; of course, he'd already tried all of those.

Then, by some fucking _miracle_ , Rose had an idea.

"What about a Disillusionment Charm?" she asked, straining to remember what Professor Flitwick had told them. _A Disillusionment Charm disguises its target as its surroundings_. "I know we use them on ourselves, but what about inanimate objects?"

Mr. Malfoy couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. "It _is_ used to make Invisibility Cloaks."

"It wears off," she remembered, frowning at the paint. "An invisibility charm might affect the windows and make them disappear. But Disillusionment…"

"Let's try it."

Rose relied on the muscle memory as she tapped her wand against the dried red paint; she hadn't cast the charm in years. Almost instantly, the large " _C"_ disappeared, leaving her looking at her own reflection in the window.

"It worked," he said stiffly, but moved onto the other window. Letter by letter, the message disappeared. From the corner of her eye, Rose could see a man—a reporter—peering at the scene and scribbling on a notepad. Before she could say anything, he caught her eye and scurried away.

As the last of the paint was transformed, they stepped back to observe the shop again. Although the words were invisible, there were still specks of red paint that were apparent.

"Whoever did this might have mixed a potion in the paint," Mr. Malfoy realized all of a sudden. "I will have to do a bit of research and ask around."

"Does this happen to everyone?" Rose asked. Even though the message was gone, she was unable to shake her unease.

"No, most of us only run shops in Knockturn Alley. Most of us don't bother trying over here." But the Malfoys had bothered, because it was important to them. If these things kept happening, it would take many more years for their reputation to change within the wizarding society.

"This isn't fair," she said quietly, pocketing her wand. "Scorpius doesn't deserve any of this. He didn't do anything."

Mr. Malfoy didn't respond, observing her very carefully.

"Is he okay?"

"Why don't you go see for yourself?" Mr. Malfoy suggested. "He was muttering under his breath the entire day; gave me a nasty headache. I expect you might know something about that?"

Rose went bright red. "I might."

Mr. Malfoy exhaled heavily and stowed his own wand back into his lab coat. There was a haunting in his features, something he clearly couldn't just shake off at the end of the day. It reminded her of when her parents mentioned the war; they'd told her bits and pieces, but it was always an agonizing experience. She could tell it was the same for Scorpius' father.

"I'd like for Scorpius to have the same opportunities we all have," Rose said, lowering her voice so any passersby couldn't hear. "I thought I could help."

"What are you saying?"

"He deserves to do what he's interested in."

"I worked hard to provide opportunities for him," he replied sharply. "He should be grateful. I know what the job market looks like for us." He paused, looking at her meaningfully. "For anyone associated with us."

Rose ignored that. "I could help. I _want_ to help."

"He wouldn't accept it," he said with finality, shaking his head as he headed back into the Apothecary. "Ask _him_ , Miss Weasley."

"He's not speaking to me," she said, unable to help it. "I don't know what to do."

Mr. Malfoy sighed but didn't turn around. "He may not be speaking to you, but he speaks about you. Constantly."

She blushed brilliantly at that.

"I know him," he continued flatly; it seemed he wasn't happy, but resigned nonetheless. "Go find him."

Rose watched as he went back inside, causing the "CLOSED" sign to swing and bounce when the door shut behind him. It was obvious that Mr. Malfoy was suggesting to speak to Scorpius, despite having decided she would wait until he came to her. However, that decision came before finding out about the graffiti fiasco.

What won out in the end was her (admittedly selfish) gut response; she _had_ to know if he was okay. If this had happened to her, she would be absolutely devastated. The fact that this happened before, even if the graffiti hadn't been permanent, and he'd played it down so casually it made her heart clench.

Scorpius had a tendency to shove things down inside. This much was obvious.

So, she was going to ignore his request and try to see him. She needed to check on Scorpius even if she had to camp out in front of his door all night. Even if he hated her for it. She was beginning to understand that this was what love meant to Rose.

And ultimately, it was her nosiness that made him fall for her in the first place, wasn't it?

* * *

Rose was bricking it.

F _uck,_ if she thought Nathan was scary, approaching Scorpius now, knowing she was in love with him, was causing failures in her organs. Her nerves were on absolute overdrive, because _holy_ _shit_ she was going fuck everything up, wasn't she?

There was no regret in her choice, but the thought of starting another argument with Scorpius made her want to hide under her covers. Various scenarios played out in her mind, but before she knew it, she was knocking on his door, counting the seconds until she heard his footsteps.

When Scorpius answered the door, she could see his eyes rimmed red and puffy behind his specs, blond hair wild and nose a little pink. He was still wearing his clothes from that morning, though they were fully rumpled.

"Hi," he said tiredly. "It's not really the best time—"

"I got rid of it," she blurted out. He stopped short, staring at her, and her heart thudded a painful beat in her chest. "Well, sort of, I charmed it, it wears off but you can't see it anymore, and I'll probably keep doing it if they use permanent sticking charms like that again."

His mouth opened and closed several times, clearly in shock.

"I… I guess I just wanted you to know. Make sure you're okay." Rose bit her lip, but it didn't stop her from rambling. "I'll keep my door unlocked if you want to come over. I mean, I guess I'm terrible with that in general. And you don't have to come over, we don't have to be friends, I'm just letting you know. If you want to."

He continued to stare at her. Why wasn't he talking? Why was she still talking?

"Also, I brought you some takeaway," Rose said into the silence, holding up the container she'd picked up on her way over. "I know it's not your favourite, but you never eat when you're upset—"

Scorpius surprised her by suddenly pulling her into his arms.

Rose hadn't realized he was shaking until she felt the tremours of his body, grasping her closer as though that would stop them. She held tightly around his waist and buried her face in his chest. If she hadn't known she was in love with him before, everything about his hold confirmed it for her; she'd never felt so at home.

"Why do you make it so hard to hate you?" he asked quietly, lips moving in her hair, sounding exhausted but relieved.

Without another word, Scorpius broke away and stepped back into his flat, gesturing her forward.

Letting her in.

* * *

A/N: Hi (again)! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and things are starting to make more sense. There will be more explained in the next chapter, too. The title of the story appears in this chapter, and the concept of safety is very interesting to me because it has positive connotations in one respect and a somewhat negative one in others. I would love to know your thoughts on whether safety in your decisions is important to you (I mean, beyond the crime aspect of it, haha).

Next chapter is the last (and there will be an epilogue). Thank you so much for reading! :)


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Rose was definitely going to fuck this up. She could feel it in her bones. After she stepped in his flat, she looked back to see Scorpius shutting the door, hesitating there. His hand lingered on the doorknob, like he was contemplating running.

Maybe she should run. That was an option.

"You should eat," she said fretfully, fumbling with the tight knot on the bag to open it. "It's not much, but you love Thai, so I got— _fuck_ —"

The bag split open and the contents hit the floor in a large _splat_. Green curry splashed all over his floor, along with the carton of rice that made less of an impact in radius, but had spilled onto the floor all the same.

"I'm so sorry!" Rose had her wand out immediately, siphoning and vanishing as she could. "I really didn't mean to do that."

"It's fine—"

"I've made a right mess, haven't I?" She laughed nervously, unable to meet his gaze as she frantically cleaned off the splotches of green off a pair of shoes in the corner. "Not much of a mess as I am, but still—"

"You're not a mess," he said gently, but he was rubbing at his eyes with his palms. "Listen, I'm really not hungry. It's fine."

"Absolutely not," she said, glancing over to his kitchen. As suspected, there was only an empty coffee mug and a half-eaten piece of toast near the sink. "I caused this, I'm going to fix it."

"You didn't cause anything."

Rose fully ignored him and headed into the kitchen to open his fridge. He only had a carton of eggs, a bag of apples and some condiments. She looked at him in surprise, but he only shrugged. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a jar of marinara sauce, only half empty. Perfect.

"I'm going to make pasta," she said, grabbing the jar and shutting the fridge. She was surprised he had it at all, with his affinity for fresh sauce, but she supposed he was lazy sometimes.

Scorpius leant back on the counter, far too tired to argue. "Okay."

"That's actually something I can make."

"You can make a lot of things now, can't you?" he asked quietly as she put a pot of water to boil.

"Right," she said with a little more clarity. Merlin, remembering her own self-validation was a little tricky. They fell quiet as the flame ran under the pot.

It was a few minutes later when Scorpius spoke again, voice tight. "How did you do it? I've been trying to get it off all day. I tried everything."

"It was honestly a fluke. I hid it with a Disillusionment Charm."

This seemed to only make him clam up again.

"I spoke to your dad, too," she continued anxiously. "He's not my number one fan, but I think he's just glad it's gone. I promised to bring a Curse Breaker to come check it out, my cousin Roxy used to be one, so. Yeah."

She managed a glance at him, but he was looking at the floor. "That's… that's really nice of you. They can be difficult to hire."

"They're usually busy," Rose confirmed, "but she just got hired to teach Defense at Hogwarts, so she's got a bit of time until school starts. She hated all the travelling with Curse Breaking."

He cleared his throat and nodded. Scorpius didn't speak much anyway, but this kind of silence was making her feel more and more flustered.

"Your dad said you talk about me a lot," she blurted out, and then grimaced. She really was going to stick her foot right up her mouth, wasn't she?

His eyes widened. "You mention something to him once or twice, and suddenly that's talking about it a lot."

"He's got to warm up to me eventually, right?" she joked uncertainly, leaning over the stove to check the pot; it was beginning to bubble up. "I mean, I'm not going away. If those idiots are going to keep putting shit up on shop windows, I'm going to Disillusion them until my arms fall off."

As she lifted the lid to the pot, she felt his chest at her back, and then he was leaning over to reach the cabinet around her. He retrieved a glass jar of pasta, setting it down on the counter before wrapping his arms around her waist, cheek pressed against the side of her hair. He was very warm and smelled strongly of coffee.

"Thank you," he whispered, grip firm around her.

"You really don't have to thank me." Rose felt almost indignant at how everyone walking by had only averted their eyes, or that reporter who had only cared once she'd shown up. It was possible the Malfoys had been more successful with their previous attempts at cleaning up the graffiti and no one had noticed it before, but the disregard was troubling to her. "It's the least I can do."

"I do, actually."

"I think I've caused enough grievance just with the takeaway. And the coffee this morning."

He chuckled, using one hand to wipe at his eyes and cheeks and the other to tug her closer. "I might even say that you might be becoming one of the best parts of my life."

Her breath caught in her throat.

"That's not even close to true," she choked out, stumbling and dumping far too much pasta into the pot. She couldn't even perceive the notion when she'd learned so much from him. She put the jar down as he pressed his lips to her jaw.

"I'm sorry about this morning. I was awful."

" _I'm_ sorry," she countered, "about everything. But especially how I reacted."

"I shouldn't have rushed you," he said, shaking his head. "You asked me why I couldn't be patient, and I've honestly been thinking about it all day. I don't really have a good reason."

"You were just protecting yourself. And it makes sense." She swallowed. "I really do need to stop running away from these sorts of things. You weren't rushing it."

"No, I was. I've rushed a lot of things in my life, and I could do with slowing down a little bit."

Rose wished she could look at him properly, but she could sense the vulnerability in his trembling voice and his almost too-tight hold. "You were young, Scorpius, it's okay. Besides, I was in major denial. I didn't know what I was feeling, but I definitely felt it."

"I know," he said, chuckling. "I was in denial for some time."

"When did you know?"

"Ah," he began, sounding embarrassed. He reached around her to sprinkle salt in the pot. "I think I admitted to myself when I told you about my divorce."

The word created a noticeable rift—perhaps on purpose—but Rose ignored it.

_Don't fuck this up._

"What happened?" she asked carefully. "I know I'm a bit slow with this sort of stuff, but I was… well, neither of us wanted a relationship, and I guess I thought you might understand." That was where the hurt panged in her chest.

He didn't reply.

"Also, I promise I don't think those things," she added, unable to help herself. "I really don't think you're selfish."

"That's because I've tried really hard to not be selfish with you," he blurted immediately. Rose attempted to turn around, but he kept his hold steady. "Annika is really forthright now, but she wasn't always like that. She kept everything in and barely fought back at all. It was only near the end of our marriage that she went off on me for everything that went wrong."

Rose pressed her lips together, watching little bits of pasta bobbing up and down in the pot. She'd had her share of selfish relationships, and if Scorpius was telling the truth, he had to have been watching himself vigilantly. No one had ever _tried_ for her, not like he had.

"It's not an excuse," he maintained, and it was clear the guilt wrecked him inside. "I shouldn't have put words in your mouth."

"You shouldn't think those things about yourself. They don't have to be true."

He exhaled tensely, but didn't elaborate. Just as Rose had her inner battles, so did he.

"So, what changed?" she asked softly, intertwining her fingers with his on her waist. "Did you really not want a relationship?"

"I really didn't," he confirmed with a hollow laugh. "But if I'm being honest, I've never been a casual relationship type of person. I knew that it would be easy to like you. When you asked me, I was going to say no."

"But you said yes."

"Yeah." He pressed his nose into her hair. "I spent three years thinking I would never be with anyone again and trying to convince myself I wasn't lonely. You saw through that right away."

Rose nodded.

"And this is really shitty," he continued with a wince, "but Annika got engaged, and I wanted to move on, too. Also, is it awful to say that you're extremely attractive, and against my better judgement, you were difficult to turn down?"

Her heart rate picked up a few notches, and Rose tried not to smile. "Well, I kept snogging you for a reason."

Scorpius let out a small laugh.

"I think you were right to set those boundaries yesterday," she admitted quietly. "They were fair. I've been so caught up in being independent, but you _have_ been helping this entire time. So have Roxy, Natalie and even Albus. There's no finish line to my self-improvement. You were right."

"I didn't mean to push you so soon, though."

"No, I was just kidding myself," she opposed with a shake of her head. "I knew we were more than friends at the lake and I knew it was going to blow up in my face. I just couldn't process it as fast as you."

"Well, now you know what I'm like when things don't go my way," he said, sounding embarrassed again. Ashamed, almost.

Which was insane, because now, understanding him better, Rose could only think more highly of him. She wished that Scorpius didn't feel the need to be so put-together all the time, even if that's what the wizarding society required of him. Rose herself could admit she had put him on a pedestal, but this was so much better.

He was being _real_.

"You're not perfect," she reminded him. "You shut other people out. I wear my flaws on my sleeve. Who really does it worse?"

He squeezed her hand.

"I don't want to fight again," he said carefully, "but you know we can't be friends anymore, right? I don't think I can do it."

"I know. That's fair." It made sense that Scorpius was protective of himself, particularly in a society that never accepted him. Despite what he thought, that wasn't actually selfish at all. He really was inclined to safety, wasn't he?

And yet, he took the leap, knowing when to take a step outside his comfort zone. For her.

She tried to hold it back, but she couldn't. "I might not be a good girlfriend."

Scorpius paused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't promise anything," she said in a rush, nerves getting the better of her. "I can't promise to be a good girlfriend and do everything I'm supposed to do. I know I'm always going to be figuring things out, but in the immediate future, I'm probably going to focus on myself. I'm starting a new job, I'm going to do some courses and maybe save up for a trip or something."

"That's okay."

"I don't want to disappoint you," she added, untangling herself from him to grab hold of the pot and moving to the sink to drain the water. "I mean, I guess I've already sort of disappointed you, and I'm trying not to be afraid of that anymore, but I still—"

" _Rose_ ," he interrupted, "I understand."

She moved back to the stove, ears burning as she unscrewed the lid to the sauce jar. "It's a lot. I know."

"Like what I deal with isn't a lot," he said with a snort. "The graffiti is kind of just the tip of the iceberg."

Rose thought back to the time that cloaked man had knocked him to the ground and felt a surge of anger and frustration. Whatever the outcome of their relationship, she didn't want that to happen anymore. People could change if they had a chance—if they weren't pushed in the opposite direction.

The sauce was simmering hot and red when Scorpius spoke again.

"I don't really want a good girlfriend, whatever that means," he said gently. "I think I can be patient for you."

Rose finally found his gaze, and her heart slowed a beat. There was something so reassuring in his expression that she couldn't help but feel a little hopeful. Like she hadn't fucked this up. Like they were going to be okay.

And then they were like magnets, drawn into each other before Rose could comprehend what was happening. Her arms were around his shoulders and his lips were on hers in an instant, and even though they'd done this so many times by then, it was different. She couldn't explain it.

Scorpius broke away to shut the stove off and then he was kissing her again, pressing her backwards into the counter. Perhaps it was poor timing, but Rose couldn't help laughing. "Are we always going to jump each other every time we're in the kitchen?"

"Absolutely." He gave her a wild grin that made her yank on his collar and bring his lips back to hers.

Her dress was off before they reached his bed, his glasses thrown aside haphazardly. His eyes raked down her body, and it hadn't immediately occurred to her to be self-conscious. Her knees dug into the mattress on either side of him, unintentionally grinding against him as she undid his buttons. She was so slow that his hands wrapped around hers, attempting to take over, but she didn't relent.

"It's going to be sunrise before you're done with that," he teased breathlessly as she struggled.

"Shush, it's not _my_ fault you insist on being buttoned up. Just pretend it's sexy."

He shrugged as she released the last button and pushed his shirt off. "I don't have to pretend, Rose."

They'd been together just the day before and still desperation surged their movements. Scorpius fell back into his sheets and Rose clambered on top of him, his fingers digging into her waist when their lips met again. She attempted to brush her hair back as her curls fell around them.

He nipped at her bottom lip before propping himself up. "Let me get on top."

"Not yet," she said, hands moving to his belt. "Lie back."

He only did so when she took him in her mouth, elbows collapsing underneath him. His fingers found their way through her hair and she'd never heard him moan so freely.

It wasn't long until he pulled away from her, breathing rapidly as he tugged off her undergarments and pinned her under him. He had barely touched her but she was ready, especially as his lips skimmed underneath her jaw, making her shiver.

Even if this was different, even if this might be a relationship now, when he hitched her legs around him, there was nothing about it that made her want to hide. Boys had told her they loved her but she'd never really felt it, not the way she did now. She couldn't run away even if she wanted to.

Rose grasped at his skin when he pushed inside her, overtaken with want or need or whatever this was that brought him closer, deeper. He dropped his head, tracing her collarbone with his lips and tongue. She barely registered his name passing over her lips; her mind was spinning.

And then he was holding her gaze, causing a lurch in her chest. Scorpius reached in between her thighs to touch her, and she was almost surprised at how close she already was. He was, too; he had his bottom lip between his teeth, holding off, waiting for her until she'd come undone around him. When he came, his forehead fell onto hers.

As she caught her breath, Scorpius pulled her spine into his chest and the covers over them. She fell asleep quickly, relieved that they were talking again, amazed that she managed not to fuck this up entirely.

That was a win.

* * *

The heat wave broke in very loud splatters of heavy rain on the window. Rose actually woke up feeling a little chilly, until she realized she was in Scorpius' bed and the calm set in with a warmth that spread to her fingers and toes. He was still sound asleep, snoring quietly beside her.

With a squint at his clock, she realized it was still quite early, which was a relief, as she didn't want to be late to the wedding. Then she zeroed in on an empty, dirty bowl and fork sitting on the coffee table; Scorpius had clearly eaten her pasta sometime after she'd fallen asleep. That made her ridiculously and irrationally happy.

He stirred as she turned over and snuggled into his shoulder. "Good morning."

"It's Sunday," he mumbled. "You can sleep."

"The wedding is today, I have to get up."

"Right." He blinked in an attempt to wake himself. "Your cousin invited me."

"You should come," she urged. The thought was both exciting and terrifying, but there was no doubt in her mind that she would want her loved ones to meet him. He'd already met some of them, anyway. "It'll be a lot of fun."

"Don't you have a date?" he asked, but the corners of his mouth twitched.

Rose narrowed her eyes. "You knew, didn't you?"

"You had this really awful look on your face when you talked about him," he said, sniggering. "Besides, you ditched him. If you weren't knocking on his door every other day, you weren't that interested in him."

"Everyone knows how I feel before I do," she grumbled, thinking of Albus. Scorpius laughed as she got up and searched for her clothing. "Anyway, he's going to be there, but not with me. I might be in need of a date."

"I thought we might have a better first date than that," he mused. Rose felt a flip in her stomach; Scorpius was definitely a romantic, and she had been avoiding anything vaguely romantic for a while. She shimmied back into her dress, avoiding his eyes to somewhat tamper down her blush.

Dating wasn't something she even properly considered up until this point. She felt herself starting to warm up to the idea of dates with Scorpius; it actually sounded exciting, and not at all a stressful ordeal.

"Where are you going?" he asked, reaching for his glasses.

"Home. If I'm going to get through today, I'm going to need the strongest cup of coffee possible."

Scorpius, as always, brightened at the mention of coffee. "I'll join you."

"If you come to the wedding, sure," she said, grinning.

"That's probably not going to happen," he replied, but threw off the covers, got dressed and followed her anyway.

The little cat was waiting for Rose at her door, curled up and asleep. When she picked him up, as gently as she could, he didn't hiss at her even though he was clearly grumpy from being woken up.

"Do you think he'll warm up to me?" Scorpius asked, watching Rose nuzzle at his grey fur with her cheek. "He spends more time in your flat than you do."

"I think it's more that you have to warm up to him," she teased.

Before he could reply, they heard a loud shout from behind them.

" _Oi!_ What are you doing with my cat?"

Rose froze in place as the Terrible Neighbour strode up to them. After countless nights of Silencing charms and fanning away the smell of his fishy dinners, he had somehow caught her and had a position with the upper hand. Still, instinctively, she held the little cat closer to her chest.

"Nothing," she said defensively. "I'm just holding him. He's cute."

"What are you on about? He's a bloody menace!" he barked.

The irony.

"He seems quite responsive to active care," Scorpius put in. Rose nearly snorted.

"Give him back right now!" he shouted, voice bouncing around the hall in echoes. "You can't steal my cat, I oughta report you to the police—"

Rose quickly stepped forward to hand him back, but the closer she got to the Terrible Neighbour, the more the cat squirmed in her arms. As their neighbour's arms outstretched to take him, he hissed angrily and slipped out of her grasp, meowing angrily at his owner before darting towards the stairwell.

Their neighbour swore much too loudly for so early in the morning.

"Bloody impossible." His face had turned a deep shade of red as he scratched at the back of his balding head. "Always running off. It's a wonder I feed him at all."

Rose was horrified; that was some sort of sick punishment. "He's no trouble for me."

"What would you know?" he snarked.

"I'll take him," she said loudly, practically demanding.

" _What?_ "

"I'd love to take him."

"You can't just—"

Scorpius cleared his throat. "I'll pay you."

The Terrible Neighbour was gobsmacked as Scorpius pulled out his wallet. Rose felt a little stunned herself; Scorpius had barely expressed any interest in the cat, even saying she was ridiculous for befriending him. He pulled out more than a few notes—far more than Rose could afford—and shoved it in their neighbour's fist.

Attempting to hide the widening of his eyes, the neighbour stuck his chin up. "That's not enough."

Exhaling impatiently, Scorpius handed over another couple of bills.

After their neighbour gleefully headed back to his apartment, practically skipping, Rose rounded on Scorpius. "What the _hell_ was that?"

"Money is the fastest way to shut people up," he reasoned, logical as always. "Besides, you can always pay me back later. I know where you live."

She laughed. "It's going to be a while. Seriously."

"Good," he said, giving her a meaningful look. Rose would've felt more thankful, but he looked far too pleased with himself.

She thanked him by making him a large cup of coffee and snuggling with him on the couch. She kept an eye on the clock even though she had quite a lot of time before the wedding. The cat wandered back in a little while later—Rose left the door open a crack—and headed straight into her bedroom, like he already owned the place.

She nudged Scorpius. "I'll let you name him if you come to the wedding."

"That is not exactly an incentive," he said, sipping his coffee. "Why do you want me to come? If you're still up for your whole independence thing, you don't need a date."

"Oi," she protested, smacking his arm gently when he began to laugh, "I don't _need_ a date. I want you to come because you're a part of my life, and that means I drag you to everything."

"Don't I know it," he muttered, and she smacked him again. "Listen, you know I'm not the biggest fan of crowds, right?"

"They're not _that_ bad," she promised. "You should come."

He kissed her on the cheek before standing up to leave, mug in hand. "We'll see."

* * *

James Potter was an idiot, but an elusive idiot.

After the wedding ceremony—which was absolutely beautiful and Rose may have gotten a little teary-eyed, don't tell anyone—and all the photos had finally been taken, she was on a mission to find James. She wasn't sure if he was _really_ going to propose during the reception, but she wasn't going to take any chances.

Even if Albus was annoying sometimes, he deserved to not to be overshadowed by his brother at his own wedding.

But he really was nowhere to be seen, and Rose kept being distracted by various family and friends she hadn't seen in ages. As everyone began filing into the reception hall, Rose determined there were a couple of things she could do:

The first was to find James and tie him to a chair, but even if they weren't allowed to do magic—too many of Charlotte's Muggle relatives around—he would probably find a way around that.

The second was to make sure he had no access to the bar, because she was pretty sure he wouldn't propose unless he was drunk enough.

The third was to enlist someone to help. There was strength in numbers, right?

Right. She could do this.

Roxanne and Noah had already made their way to their table, which was probably the only reason why she was able to locate her seat easily; the hall was packed. They were speaking to some relatives, probably about their engagement. As she neared them, she realized Skye was also at their table, looking a little bored; thankfully, Nathan was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," Rose greeted, dropping down beside her. "Have you seen James?"

"Not since the ceremony," Skye replied. "Why?"

Rose lowered her voice. "I need your help finding him. We have to sabotage his proposal somehow."

" _Proposal?_ " Her eyebrows shot up. "Fucking hell…"

"Will you help me?"

With another pair of eyes on the situation, Rose felt a tiny bit better about the situation as they split up to look for James, weaving through the many bodies in tuxes and beautiful dresses. She also realized she couldn't see Scorpius anywhere; he hadn't agreed to come, per se, but he also hadn't _not_ agreed to come. She was holding out hope.

As she stepped out of the hall into the lobby, she thought she saw someone in the corner of her eye that could be James—messy dark hair, thick rectangle glasses—but before she could verify that, she bumped into someone. Rose nearly toppled over but he steadied her, looking unsurprised.

Hugo.

"Sorry," she said quickly, leaning her neck back; her younger brother towered over her. "Have you seen James?"

"No," he replied. "Have you seen Mum? She's been bugging me all week about you."

Rose coloured. "Yeah, I saw her yesterday. We had it out."

"Figures," he said, grinning and running a hand through his bright red hair. "It's about time, really. I had a row with her years ago."

" _You_?" Rose couldn't imagine her mother and Hugo fighting at all. Sure, a little bit when they were younger about grades, but she'd mostly treated Hugo as though he were a bit of a lost cause.

"It was when I first joined the Cannons," he explained. "I was living at home for a bit, remember? She went on and on about how I was wasting potential again because I only got four out of seven N.E.W.T.s and how I should be doing something _worthwhile._ " He put their mother's favourite word in air quotes with his fingers.

Rose hadn't realized her mother told Hugo the same shit she'd been hearing for years. Maybe she wasn't as much of the 'golden child' as she thought, which hit her in the gut. She'd resented Hugo for a long time.

"That's rough."

"Yeah, we had it out and then she left me alone," he said, shrugging. "Especially when I moved out."

"I only told her off this week," she admitted. "It's been a long time coming, but she means well."

"She always does." Hugo gave her a large clap on the back. "But if she or Dad are ever bothering you, you can always talk to me. I'm good for that kind of stuff."

Something softened in her chest. "I think we've resolved things for now. But that would be great."

"Anyway, I think I see James over there with your friend," he said, pointing to the bar inside.

Rose whirled around to see Skye striking up a conversation with her cousin. James looked annoyed; he was clearly trying to shake her off, but she could see Skye glancing around every few seconds, attempting to locate Rose before James got away again.

As quickly as she could, she hurried over, slowing down just before she approached them; this had to be natural. Knowing James, the more someone told him not to do something, the more likely he was to do precisely that.

"James!" Rose tried not to wince at how high-pitched her voice had become. "Fancy seeing you here."

He looked at her oddly. "At my brother's wedding?"

"We were just talking about Quidditch," Skye cut in, clearly trying not to roll her eyes. "James thinks the Harpies have no chance of winning this season."

"They don't!" he protested immediately, rounding on her again. "I'm telling you, as long as they keep getting knocked off their brooms—"

"That's just some sexist bullshit, and you know it—"

"Shh!" Rose said, eyes widening as she realized a few of the strange looks around them weren't entirely unjustified. She lowered her voice and leaned in. "There are Muggles here, remember?"

"Shit," Skye muttered.

"You two should go," James all but demanded, turning back towards the bar. "I need a drink before my speech."

"Oh!" Rose cried, racking her brain; he was definitely going to propose if he was drunk. "But maybe it'll go better if you're sober, right?"

Well, clearly her brain had completely short-circuited.

"No," he said in disbelief, narrowing his eyes at her. "You're acting strange. Leave me alone."

Dismayed, Rose and Skye made their way back to their table. The lights flickered above them, warning everyone to get back to their seats.

"Well, that was stupid," Rose mumbled.

"Not _entirely_." With a sneaky grin, Skye opened her hand—that Rose had just realized was previously in a fist—to reveal an engagement ring.

" _You stole the ring?"_

"I think James is already a few drinks in," she said, pushing the ring onto Rose's palm. "I literally took the box, got the ring out and put the box back in his pocket. He didn't even notice."

Rose paused. "He's probably not going to check if the ring is in there."

"Oh no." Skye froze.

"Which means he'll pull out the box…"

" _And propose without the ring,_ " they finished together, exchanging horrified looks. That was so much worse than just proposing.

Fuck, she should've just tied him to a chair.

Nathan chose that moment to drop down on the seat beside Skye; evidently, being a cousin of the bride meant you just switched seats, but not tables. The lights flickered again. "What are we all talking about?"

Rose curled her fingers around the ring, and the diamond dug into her skin until she slipped it into her pocket. Thank goodness for dresses with pockets. "Nothing in particular."

"The speeches," Skye supplied, sending a flirty smile towards Nathan. He went very red, and she tried not to laugh; he was so smooth with Rose, but she was wondering how he would handle someone like Skye.

Rose's eyes dropped to the place card on the other side of her, where _'Scorpius Malfoy'_ was written in neat cursive; that was definitely Albus' doing. She wondered if Scorpius, if he showed up, would be able to tell that Nathan was her previous wedding date. Probably not.

Not that it mattered; there was no competition, even in hindsight. Sure, Nathan was more attractive than Scorpius, but ultimately, there was chemistry with him when they were just together, talking about nothing in particular. She was very interested in Scorpius, enough to knock on his door, as he'd put it. She understood the difference now.

Where was he? Was he really not going to come?

Then there was a stab in her stomach; maybe he hadn't wanted to come because he wasn't ready. She could understand that, as they'd just made up the night before, but he'd given her the impression that he was all-in. She thought he would at least let her know, now that they were together.

They _were_ together now… right?

Rose couldn't think about it for very long; the lights flickered again, the band stopped playing and Nathan was urging them all to get back to the lobby so they could make their entrances.

The lights dimmed out as the wedding party emerged out from the hall. Rose spotted James, champagne glass in hand— _shit_ —and talking to his parents and younger sister. She started to approach him, but Ella called her over to join the other bridesmaids, distracting her.

After all the entrances had been made, the band played a popular love song as Albus and Charlotte came through the double doors, greeted by loud claps and whistles. They approached the middle of the dance floor when Albus surprised Charlotte by spinning her around, causing even louder cheers. The band then transitioned into a slower love song, announcing their first dance.

It was all very cheesy, and Rose was surprised by how happy she was for them. Perhaps the romantic part of her that she'd squashed down all those years ago really was inching back to life.

It wasn't long until James was giving his speech, and she held her breath and prayed that he wasn't going to propose in the middle of it. He didn't, but Rose could see on Albus' face that he was less-than-impressed by his older brother's toast. Her own speech went fine; there were some _aww's_ and laughter, which was a good sign.

It wasn't until she sat back at her seat and felt a hand at the small of her back that her heart leapt into her throat.

"You did great," Scorpius whispered as he sat down beside her. His hair was slightly dishevelled but his suit was pristine. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"You came," she said in astonishment. Several heads had turned to look in his direction and she could tell he was quite nervous, though his expression was flat and controlled.

"It's difficult to rent a suit last-minute," he explained. "There are so many weddings going on this weekend. Also, I think I managed to evade the reporters outside."

Rose beamed anyway. "I'm glad you made it."

Though she would never tell Scorpius, the curious stares she was getting around the table was making her a little nervous, too. Though Roxanne and Skye knew about Scorpius, she wasn't sure how to introduce him. Especially to her father, who was probably glaring holes into the back of her head. She was too afraid to look.

She didn't even know if they were a couple yet.

Maybe she hadn't thought this through.

As the speeches went on, Rose took the opportunity to survey James at his table. He was getting a little red around the neck, a sure sign that he was on his way to intoxication and she could see him reaching an arm around his girlfriend's chair. This was not looking good.

"Fuck, I hate these things," Scorpius said in her ear, nonethewise of her planning, or lack thereof. "Why are there so many people?"

"My family is ginormous," Rose said, amused. "Didn't you know that?"

He groaned quietly, making her laugh.

As soon as the speeches ended and the waiters began bringing out dinner, Roxanne practically launched herself across Noah's lap, holding out a hand to Scorpius. "Hi, I'm Roxy."

"Scorpius," he replied, trying not to laugh.

Rose quickly began introducing him to her friends. With past boyfriends, she would be very jumpy about bringing them around, but she'd already invaded his friend group, so she felt less justified in that. Besides, they seemed to be making polite conversation with him, and even Nathan had politely said hello.

Ella, of course, was confused by him sitting at their table. "So, how do you know Albus?"

Rose and Scorpius glimpsed at each other, and as much as she was questioning him telepathically, he did not understand. "Er, I just met him at Rose's last week."

"We're neighbours," Rose put in quickly, heart sinking. Maybe they weren't together yet. Maybe they were still in this weird in-between place and she was embarrassing herself quite a lot right now.

Fuck, she read way too much into everything, didn't she?

"Oh," Ella replied, expression clearing. "After dinner, we're going to make a conga line to get everyone on the dance floor. You should join us, Scorpius."

"Um, uh, that's all right," he stammered. "I'm fine. Right here."

Rose tried not to smile. Scorpius was very shy, and it was very cute.

"Rose," Skye muttered, nudging her side and gesturing towards James. He had the attention of everyone at his table, which included his parents, Albus and Charlotte, and he was holding his girlfriend's hands in his. He had a meaningful look on his now very-pink face. Albus looked furious. But also defeated.

Absolute panic shot through Rose.

"What do we do?" she hissed.

"I dunno!" Rose felt helpless as James turned away, digging into his pocket. To her surprise (and to his), he opened the box, or perhaps wasn't about to propose with the box itself.

And then she realized: she was in some deep shit.

"Oh no," she mumbled as James immediately began frantically tapping his pockets for the missing ring. Leaving his half-eaten dinner and confused family members, he began to dart around the hall, unabashedly checking under people's chairs. His girlfriend seemed extremely confused.

Skye was unconcerned. "That seems to have solved our problem, actually. We can return the ring tomorrow."

"I guess." So why did Rose feel so guilty about it?

Between Scorpius and the impending doom that was James, she was fidgeting in her seat all throughout dinner and Charlotte's father-daughter dance. Ella was starting up the conga line when she saw James slip out of the hall. Rose stood, about to follow him, but Scorpius pulled her back.

"I'm not into whatever that is," he said, gesturing to the wedding guests in the conga line, "but let's dance."

Rose stared at him. "But… I thought…"

His smile faltered. "What?"

How could she explain if she danced with him, her family would definitely think they were together? She wanted to say it straightforward, like he always was— _Are we in a relationship or not?_ —but apparently that was just not who she was destined to be.

"I have the engagement ring," she blurted out instead.

"Uh… what?"

"James was going to propose," she explained, "and Skye stole the ring so he wouldn't, and now he's scouring the hall looking for it instead of proposing."

"So…" He waited for her to continue, but she didn't. "So, there's no problem?"

"I feel so guilty. It's probably expensive, and he's losing his mind looking for it."

He laughed. "Why is he trying to propose in the middle of Albus' wedding?"

"I dunno," Rose admitted. "It's just what he does. He's very selfish and likes to upstage Albus in practically everything. If James proposed, he would probably end up with all the attention again. Al has been stressed out for months over this, he doesn't deserve that."

Scorpius seemed extremely amused.

"You're going to say I'm ridiculous, aren't you?" she asked, laughing weakly.

"No," he said, leaning in as the music became louder. "I was going to say that you're very sweet. I don't know anyone who sticks up for their friends or family as much as you do."

Rose blushed.

"I should give him the ring, shouldn't I?" she asked, bringing it out from her pocket.

"Of course not," he replied, taking it from her. "You should tell him you have it and tell him exactly what you think of his proposal plan. Up front."

She laughed, unable to believe that she'd ever thought that being with Scorpius would inhibit her desire to find herself or become a better person. Maybe growing in a relationship was actually possible; she'd asked him to come to this wedding, practically dragging him out of his comfort zone, and here he was, gently working her out of hers.

"You're good for me," she said softly, barely audible over the thumping of the music. "You know that, don't you?"

Scorpius grinned. "I know. Go, before he starts searching the rubbish bins."

It was nearly too late. Rose found James outside the hall, raking his hands through his hair as he eyed the large trashcan. She felt both infuriated and sorry for him. Scorpius was never going to question his own selfishness again once he met James.

"You didn't lose it," she said, approaching him.

James went from confused to relieved in seconds. "You found it? Where? Wait, how did you know?"

"I stole it."

"You _what_?"

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, hands on her hips. "You know this is your brother's day. Or if not his, then Charlotte's. This would ruin it for them."

James puffed out his cheeks to exhale. "I dunno. It's a pretty fancy event, nice atmosphere. Besides, Al's been an arse for months, hasn't he?"

Rose struggled to reply; it was true, after all.

But despite that, Albus had still helped her get a job. He helped her see sense with this whole falling-in-love thing and he accepted Scorpius when no one else in her life did. She wasn't going to discredit that anytime soon.

Albus had her back, and she was going to have his.

"He's coming around," she said firmly. "Anyway, my point is that this is a shitty thing to do, and I'm going to give you the ring back tomorrow. You can enjoy the wedding without all this."

"You know," James pondered aloud, grinning impishly, "I could always propose _without_ a ring."

Yeah, fuck this. She was tying him to a chair.

As she went to pull out her wand, James held his hands up and stepped backwards. "Joking. I was joking, I swear!"

"You're an arse," she told him, but still feeling somewhat accomplished. She couldn't hex him anyway; a few of Charlotte's Muggle relatives were around, hiding from the loud music, looking at them curiously.

As James headed back into the reception hall, it was occurring to Rose that she really had changed. She'd stood up to Albus, Nathan and even her mother _._ And now James. If she could stand up to her cousin, making herself the target of pranks for probably the next three Christmasses, she could ask Scorpius to be her boyfriend, right?

Even the thought made her heart beat wildly in her chest. But that just confirmed that she had to do it.

By the time she got back into the hall, the dance floor was crowded with drunk and rowdy wedding guests. It took a minute, but she found Scorpius waiting in line at the bar, unfortunately being cornered by her mother. She saw his expression freeze; for a moment, Rose thought he was going to duck away.

But he straightened his spine and loosened the muscles in his cheeks, attempting the best smile he could. She felt a surge of admiration for him; he really did have a strong sense of who he was. Nevertheless, she hurried over to rescue him.

Scorpius seemed quite relieved as Rose approached them, greeting her loudly. Her mother turned around, guilt flashing across her features after being caught.

"Hi, Mum," Rose said pointedly, joining the line. "Enjoying the wedding?"

"I was just saying hello," she defended. "Harry was telling me you wrote to Scorpius asking for a recommendation letter."

"You did _what_?" Scorpius asked sharply, turning to Rose.

She felt her face heat. "I wrote to him last week. It's just unfair that you can't get any Ministry grants. Or that you get rejected from the programs instantly."

It took a moment for Scorpius to maintain his composure.

"You shouldn't have done that," he protested. "I'm raising my grade. They might change their mind."

"But if they don't," her mum cut in quickly, "I could help to appeal the decision. If Rose thinks they're being unfair, I believe her."

Rose couldn't help smiling.

"Okay," he said, voice hoarse. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."

"Enjoy the rest of your night," she said, waving as she left. Rose watched as she crossed the room back to her father's side; he was glaring at them, arms crossed. Merlin, she had just made up with one parent, and now another one was angry with her?

They reached the front of the line and Scorpius ordered a strong drink.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked uneasily, moving them off to the side to wait for his order. "What if this backfires? I don't care what they say about me, but I don't want _your_ name dragged through the mud."

"We'll deal with it when the time comes," she replied, shrugging. "You know how they are. Either way, I bet there will be something in tomorrow's paper about the Apothecary, I saw a reporter there yesterday."

"Fuck," he mumbled, grabbing his drink as the bartender plopped it down on the bar.

Rose felt a rush of courage. "Are we—I mean, it's fine if this is too soon, but—are we in a relationship now?"

Holy shit. She actually said it.

Maybe reinventing herself was stupid, but in that moment, she actually felt like she had.

To her surprise, Scorpius began to laugh. "Are you serious?"

"We can be friends," she backtracked. "I mean, half my family must already think we're together just by standing and talking, and I don't want to rush anything, but we can just spread the word that we're just friends—"

"We are _not_ going back to saying we're friends," he said firmly, looking at her like she'd gone mad. She wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't caught all her rambling over the music. "After everything that happened, you think we can be friends?"

She bit her lip to hide her growing smile. "It's been a confusing few days."

"You can say that again," he said, taking another sip of his drink before leaning closer. "Listen, people are going to talk. But I'm ready to kiss you in the middle of that dance floor if you are." Despite his bluntness, she could see the insecurity in the way his fingers fidgeted around his glass.

"I am," she confirmed.

"Are you sure?"

Rose took his drink and set it down on the bar before looping her arms around his shoulders. "I've learned from a certain someone to not care what other people think. We might be in the papers tomorrow, but I think it's going to be a positive article."

"You can't know that."

"No, but I'm going to be optimistic." The words were rolling off her tongue before she knew what she was saying, throwing safety firmly out the window. "Besides, there should be _something_ good that comes out of a Weasley being in love with you."

His jaw hung loosely before he snapped it shut. "I reckon I'm getting there, Rose."

"You think?" she teased.

"I'm sure." Without waiting to get on the dance floor, Scorpius kissed her softly, hands around her waist, attracting quite a lot of attention from those around them. Changing everything.

But maybe they could get through it together.

* * *

A/N: Aaaaand… it's done! Ahhhhhh

Thank you so much to everyone reading: first, for reading the _entire way through_ , holy shit, you are amazing. Second, for those of you who were so patient with this chapter. As you can see, it is extremely long plus I had to write it twice because the first version was so meh. And not that you need more excuses, but all the work deadlines came up dsjhfsk

I also just wanted to share a couple of songs that inspired me while I wrote this. I've been obsessed this artist, so if you're into folk/pop, I would highly recommend the songs that inspired the two characters:

For Scorpius: "Glue Myself Shut", for Rose: "Mess", both songs by Noah Kahan

A new Scorose story is in the works soon! If you would like me to write a particular story or have any plot ideas, feel free to PM me anytime. _Please follow my author page so you can get emails on when I post the new story_ if you would like to read.

There is going to be an epilogue soon, so stay tuned :) Thank you again!


	28. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_Two years later_

Rose was not hiding from Scorpius.

Was she avoiding him? Was she concealing herself behind a pile of books in the back section of Flourish and Blotts? Had she told him she was going to be at Roxanne's all afternoon so he wouldn't come looking for her? Had she purposefully gone when he was supposed to be working?

Okay, she was hiding from Scorpius. But it was for his own good.

Which was why when he entered the bookshop that afternoon, Rose nearly knocked over the pile of books she was meant to be sorting for Natalie. Which she was clearly not doing, and when Scorpius entered, she had to abandon that, stuff the book she was reading under her arm and creep towards the front.

Scorpius greeted Natalie with a wave. "Has Rose come around today?"

"Oh, she…" Natalie met Rose's frightful gaze and shaking head. "No, not today."

"Good, I'm looking for her gift for our anniversary," he said, stuffing his hands in the pockets. "Is there anything she had her eye on?"

"Yes," Natalie said loudly, despite the fact that Rose was only a couple of metres away, hiding behind the bookcase. "Let's go to the back, I'll show you."

"Er… okay." He was clearly thrown off by her raised voice, but followed her anyway.

Thanks to Natalie, Rose made a quick and easy escape out the front door, still holding the book, but Natalie probably wouldn't mind if Rose brought it back the next day. She was there every weekend, anyway.

And Merlin knows Rose couldn't keep the book in her flat; even if she hid it under her socks, Scorpius slept in her room practically every night and he'd probably find it. After Rose had gotten a good distance away, she took her first breath, turning the book over in her hands:

_How to Propose to Your Boyfriend: Advice for the Modern Witch or Wizard!_

Actually, now that she thought about it, it was probably safer to bury it.

* * *

"Is this the worst idea I've ever had?"

Roxanne shrugged. Unable to face it if Scorpius found the book, Rose had Flooed over to Roxy and Noah's home in Hogsmeade and was now situated on their couch. It was a long way, but at least there was no chance of him finding it; the book was safely sitting in Rose's bag, and Roxy and Noah seemed quite amused.

"It's not the _worst_ idea," Noah put in, "but why don't you want to wait for Scorpius to propose?"

"Do you think he would?" Rose asked sceptically.

"Well." Roxy and Noah exchanged glances. They'd both gotten to know Scorpius over the last two years, especially since they dealt with all the cursed graffiti on the Apothecary. He had even been at their wedding. Still, Scorpius could be difficult to read; he wasn't _against_ marriage, but he would occasionally state his less-than-stellar opinion of it.

"Exactly." Rose leant back on the couch and rested her head. "He's not going to propose."

It wasn't as though she particularly minded being the one to propose. She'd been proposed to before by her previous boyfriend, so she lived that experience. The real question was whether Scorpius would be put on the spot. That, and if she was a complete idiot.

"Besides," Rose continued, "it's not like he _has_ to propose to me. Things are different now, and women can propose if they want to."

"It's not really about waiting for him to propose," Roxanne said slowly, glancing at Noah again, "as it is about waiting for him to be ready."

She frowned. "He might not be ready, true."

"Exactly."

"But he might _never_ be ready."

"Well, you knew that going in."

"Did I?" Rose fidgeted. Beyond understanding the difference between their families, she hadn't given it as much thought as she should have. But what else was new?

"What does Albus think of the idea?" Noah asked.

"He's a fan," Rose relented, snorting, "but that's because he's a fan of weddings. And hitting life checkpoints. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts to drop hints to Scorpius."

Roxanne laughed. "Thank Merlin he's on holiday, then."

"Yeah." Things had improved between Rose and Albus after he'd gotten back from his honeymoon. They weren't as close as they used to be, but after Rose stopped putting up with his bullshit, Albus really did put in some effort into their friendship.

Plus, Albus had been the one who really stood up for Rose when it came to introducing Scorpius to the rest of her family. He and Scorpius always got along quite well and Rose appreciated that Albus never brought up the Malfoy name or past in a negative light. He'd been overall quite vocal of his approval.

"How do I propose, then?" Rose wondered aloud. She hadn't quite gotten past the speech part in the book.

"I don't think Scorpius would want to be asked in public," Roxanne said immediately. "He's quite private, isn't he?"

Noah nodded in agreement. "I'm not sure he'd want a ring, either…"

Rose dropped her head in her hands and groaned loudly.

"There's no harm in asking, Rose," Roxy said warmly.

"This is such a bad idea," she lamented, voice muffled. "He's going to think I'm insane. He's going to say no and it'll be so awkward and we're going to break up, all because I want to have a cute wedding and move in together and celebrate and everything."

Roxanne rolled her eyes and threw a fluffy pillow in her direction, hitting Rose's long nose. "You're overthinking this. Stay here tonight before you do something stupid."

* * *

Rose was technically supposed to be working at Flourish and Blotts the next morning. A year ago, Natalie relented and had Rose transform the upper floor of the bookstore into a complete owl-order service. This had not only managed to save the business but gave Rose a permanent share in the place. She still worked there every weekend to help out the heavy orders.

But she found herself peeking inside the Apothecary window that morning, making sure Scorpius wasn't working. He hardly worked weekends at the Apothecary anymore—he did most of his research on the weekends—but she had to make sure.

Luckily, Mr. Malfoy was the only one working, tending to a couple of customers. Rose could be proud of herself for this; thanks to her insistence, the Malfoy name was regarded a little higher, the articles in _The Prophet_ had largely stopped and indirectly resulted in more customers to the Apothecary. The Malfoys had recently begun to open on Sundays and hired a couple of employees in Scorpius' absence.

Rose joined the line and waited until the customers had left before moving forward. Mr. Malfoy gave her a terse smile, which probably meant he was in a good mood.

"Miss Weasley," he said, twisting a cap on a vial, "what can I do for you?"

"Rose," she corrected. She was still trying to get Mr. Malfoy to call her by her first name, and it was a work-in-progress. "Scorpius isn't here, is he?"

"No, you just missed him. He was picking up some ingredients."

It seemed her peeking was justified. "Oh, good. I wanted to ask you something."

Mr. Malfoy put the vial down to look at her.

"Do you—d'you think Scorpius—I mean, I haven't talked to him yet—but do—"

He raised an eyebrow, silencing her rambling. "Are you all right?"

Rose silently cursed the how-to book; she'd spent a long time the night before, curled up on Roxanne and Noah's couch and reading it thoroughly. It had suggested that she speak to a close friend or family member to suss the situation, but it probably hadn't expected someone quite as cold as Mr. Malfoy.

"Yes," she said. Asking if Scorpius wanted to marry her was way too direct; she switched gears. "What does Scorpius think of weddings?"

"I've never heard him complain."

"And, uh…" Rose swallowed. "What about marriage?"

He looked at her sharply. "Scorpius has already been married once."

"That was a long time ago!" she protested immediately.

"He's also studying now," he continued crossly, "and he shouldn't be distracted."

Rose fought the urge to laugh in disbelief. Mr. Malfoy hadn't approved of Scorpius going back to school to research Herbology, even after he'd aced his second Potions N.E.W.T. and won a grant from the Ministry. But sometime over the past year, he'd changed his mind.

As for Rose being a distraction, she highly doubted it. He'd encouraged her as she worked full-time in the Auror Office and attended classes on nights and weekends and she'd been accommodating of his classes and research program. There had been some rough patches, sure, but it helped that they lived across the hall from each other.

"We've studied together," she pointed out. "We work better when we're holding each other accountable. We don't even get distracted."

Well, not _too_ much.

Mr. Malfoy's eye twitched. "I suppose."

"I think we would be good together."

"You know my opinion about this," he said dismissively.

"But what does _he_ think about getting married again?" she pressed.

"I'm not sure." He inhaled through his nose, looking as though he was trying very hard to keep calm. "But… I suppose, if that's what he really wants, then perhaps…"

Rose grinned gleefully at him.

Mr. Malfoy conceding in not-so-many-words was definitely progress; believe it or not, it was a long way from the sourness she'd experienced from him when she and Scorpius first started dating. Granted, he'd found out from an article in _The Daily Prophet_ from when Rose and Scorpius had gone to the wedding together. But she knew he was grateful for keeping the graffiti off the Apothecary and he'd accepted she was here to stay. Perhaps he just hadn't thought so far ahead.

Her own father certainly hadn't. He was _still_ in denial.

"You will have to ask Scorpius, wouldn't you?" Mr. Malfoy asked, eyeing her carefully.

Her smile drooped. "Yes."

At some point, Rose had to face the possibility of total rejection.

Easy enough, right?

* * *

Rose returned the book after her visit to the Apothecary, but the situation still felt as though it was weighing on her shoulders. She considered asking her parents for advice, but honestly? It was probably better to only tell them if things turned out all right.

Not wanting to retreat too much into old habits, she didn't avoid Scorpius after that, but she didn't bring up the subject, either. Rose felt entirely justified in proposing, but the fact remained that men were the ones expected to carry out the task—not her. She wouldn't even know how to approach the topic.

It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that she'd found an opening. She'd just gotten back from a run and Scorpius was in her kitchen, pouring cream into a fresh mug of coffee.

"You're just in time," he said, pushing the mug towards her. "I can make you some breakfast."

"You're awfully cheery." She took her coffee and inhaled deeply. "Aren't you supposed to be at the lab?"

"I took this weekend off."

Rose perked up. "For our anniversary?" It was only on the Sunday, but she wanted to be understanding in case he had to do research over the weekends. He worked in St. Mungo's during the week under one of the medical researches, which could be quite intensive.

Scorpius plopped the cone on top of a new mug and began making his own coffee. "Of course. You know the summer is flexible. Besides, we haven't spent an entire weekend together in a long time."

Rose couldn't remember the last time they'd done that.

"How was your week?" he asked.

"It was all right," she replied, feeling far cheerier herself after hearing the news. She leaned into his side, and despite the fact that she was still sweaty, he slid an arm around. "I heard back from _Spellbound_ , they want to publish my article."

He kissed the top of her head. "Congratulations. I'm not surprised, honestly."

"You never know, Ella could have pulled some strings for me."

"But it's _your_ name that's being published."

Rose laughed. "Good point." She was allowed to celebrate, after all; this was a major accomplishment after she'd decided to start freelancing on the side.

It turned out the job Albus had gotten her had been a very good fit. Rose had an eye for detail and writing with a precision that proved extremely useful, and before she knew it, she had been promoted from assisting and editing to writing the Auror forms and documents in their entirety. Of course, a few of her classes definitely helped on her resume.

Rose had taken her mother's advice and explored different classes around her work schedule. She started off with more generic classes, but she quickly gravitated towards writing classes and advanced dissections of events in Wizarding history. She and Scorpius had spent many nights together, writing their essays and studying for exams, but Rose was finished with classes for the time being.

Instead, heeding Charlotte's advice on freelance, she began sending out short articles of her own thoughts and opinions on current events. Rose wasn't sure if she wanted to freelance full-time, but she was okay with not knowing exactly what she wanted to do. She was trying to be excited about the future, rather than being anxious.

Her cat—Forrest—began to poke around her ankles, so she hopped into the counter, being careful to place her coffee beside her. "So, what shall we do with our two full days of freedom?"

"Hmm," Scorpius pondered, putting the kettle down and snaking his fingers up her bare legs, "I have some thoughts."

"Are you going to verbalize these thoughts?" she teased as his lips skimmed her jaw.

"Nope." He kissed her slowly, one hand gripping the skin of her thigh, the other sneaking around her waist.

Rose broke off with a blush. "I'm so sweaty."

"I know. It's sexy."

"You're so strange," she said, laughing. "You can't possibly like me like this."

Scorpius grinned and shrugged. "I like you all the time."

It came in a rush, as it had a number of times over the past few months: she really _did_ want to marry him. It was more than having a nice wedding or living together. It was those memories that she could share with him, everything in between being young and in love and growing old together. It was a gut feeling—no, deeper than that. She felt it in her bones.

He was it for her. Plain and simple.

"Well, if you say so," she said as she wrapped her legs around his waist, "but I'm rather partial to being clean."

After she had thoroughly enjoyed Scorpius in the shower and in her bed, Rose found herself falling silent as they rested, limbs entangled. She knew most proposals took place in fancy restaurants or tended to be grand gestures, but she didn't think that that would be _them._ In some way, their quiet moments felt right.

Like now. It felt right.

"Hey," Scorpius nudged, tugging on a wet strand of her hair that was beginning to coil. "What's on your mind?"

She curled up to his side. "Do you remember when you came with me to get my tattoo?"

"I thought you blocked that from your memory," he joked.

"Just the pain part."

"Mhmm." His hum sounded sarcastic as he traced the little phoenix on her shoulder. "I also have tried to forget the considerable amount of pain."

Rose snorted. She'd gotten it at the end of the summer two years ago—a little bit after Albus' wedding—and though Roxy had also come with her, it was Scorpius' hand she squeezed the living hell out of.

"Do you remember when I had that panic attack before my exam?" he asked quietly. Rose nodded; when Scorpius was raising his Potions N.E.W.T. grade, he'd been so jittery at the thought of blanking, just as he had when he was at Hogwarts.

"You kept me up all night," she teased, affectionately prodding her nose against the stubble on his cheek. "And you got an Outstanding in the end, you prat—"

"You love me."

"Indeed." She kissed his jaw. "Do you remember the first time you told me you loved me?"

"Yeah," he said, chuckling. It was only a couple of weeks after she'd said it, and he'd made a show of it, taking her on an afternoon picnic and stammering it out after sandwiches. "I was nervous, wasn't I?"

"Don't know why, I bloody said it—still say it—multiple times a day."

"True." He pressed his lips to her forehead. "That just made me love you more."

"Yeah." Their gazes met, and even though her heart leapt, courage bolted through her.

"Would you—"

"Do you want—"

They both stopped, as they had spoken at the same time.

"Go on," she urged, cheeks burning.

"I'm basically always here," he said matter-of-factly, "and you're always at mine, so… I dunno, maybe we could look for a flat together? You said your lease is almost up, isn't it?"

"I'm month-to-month now, yeah." Her heart was still racing, but she was going to take this as a good sign. "You'd really like to?"

"Of course." He gave her a soft smile. "What were you going to say?"

"Er," she began before clearing her throat. "Well… if we're going to consider moving in together, I don't suppose we would consider other things?"

"Like what?"

"Like… buying a bigger bed for us? Or another cat?" She had ventured into babbling territory. Fuck, how did people make this look so easy?

Scorpius shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Is this your whole rite of passage thing again? Milestones, you called it?"

"No, it's not like that." Rose took a deep breath and leaned away from him to look at him properly. "I don't want to rush anything, but… you're always there for me and I'm really happy with you. Would you want to get married?"

 _Holy shit,_ she did it, and it didn't sound horrible.

Well, not _too_ horrible? Someone needed to hand her a medal, especially to distract her from how hard her heart was striking against her ribs.

To her surprise, he laughed again.

"You're so ridiculous," he said, yanking her back into his chest. "Why are you so nervous to talk about that?"

"The same reason you were nervous to tell me you loved me," she protested. "Anyway, doesn't everyone get nervous when they propose?"

"Wait, were you _proposing_?"

"Yes!" She was fully affronted for a split second. But then his eyes widened, his body stilled and everything went extremely silent.

Ah, _fuck_.

"I mean," she burst out, "we don't have to. I'm just, you know, asking. I still want to be together, whatever you say. But we both have to decide if that's what we want, even though you obviously know what I want, but… it's a group decision, right?"

Well, if Rose didn't sound stupid before, she really nailed it just then.

"You're serious?" he asked quietly, intertwining their fingers. "You're really proposing?"

"I should've talked to you first, shouldn't I?" She gave a weak laugh. "I thought it would be like… I dunno. A surprise."

"It was." He smiled and kissed her. "But you're right, talking to me first would have been the normal thing to do."

"Not that either of us were expecting normal from me."

"Nope." He kissed her again. "And yes."

"And honestly, that probably would've been—wait, what?"

"Yes," he repeated, squeezing her hand. "Yes, let's get married."

Rose shot up in bed. "Really?"

"Yes." Amusement lit his eyes. "You've grown a lot since I've known you. You stand up for yourself and you work harder than anyone I know. I love you."

"So you _don't_ think I'm a nutter?" She could feel her jaw hanging open, but she couldn't bring herself to snap it shut.

"Oh, I do." Scorpius pulled her back into his arms and placed his chin at the top of her head. "Also, now your father has to admit we're together. He was still calling me your ' _friend'_ last time we were at The Burrow."

She burst into laughter, much giddier than normal. "Do you remember when we used to do that?"

"Don't remind me."

"Holy shit," she said, still a bit in shock. "I thought—Scorpius, I've been going back and forth about this for months! You've been saying that marriage is overrated since the day I met you."

"Yeah, it might be." He shrugged. "But _you_ want this, don't you?"

She nodded, staring at his Adam's apple, suddenly shy.

He pressed his lips to her hairline. "Then that's what I want."

Rose exhaled in relief. She should probably know better by now, that overthinking and not communicating was not worth the anxiety, but it was a work in progress. Choosing which risks to take could be tricky, and it would always be.

At least she didn't have to do it alone.

* * *

A/N: Hiii there... so that's it, that's all! I apologize for the long wait on the epilogue, honestly I've been having a tough time with mental health stuff and then my laptop conked out haha. But that's the end and I hope you enjoyed it!

I really appreciate all of you for reading this and especially to everyone who followed along as I wrote this, it's been amazing. Thank you :)


End file.
